Penland School’s 22nd Annual Benefit Auction
Date Posted: 6/8/2007
Penland School of Crafts, a national center for craft education located in the North Carolina mountains, hosts a gala auction weekend August 10 and 11 featuring the sale of more than 190 works in books, clay, glass, metals, textiles, wood, and two-dimensional media. The Penland auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast.
The weekend offers ample opportunity for purchasing outstanding contemporary crafts including two live and two silent auctions as well as sales at the Penland Gallery and Resident Artist Studios. Alex Bernstein, Cynthia Bringle, Lisa Clague, Cristina Cordova, Vittorio Costantini, Karen Karnes, Paul Stankard, and Toshiko Takaezu, among others, have donated pieces to Penland in support of the studios and programs. Among the signature pieces are Jun Kaneko’s ceramic Untitled Dango and Rick Beck’s cast glass Reamer. The live auctions and meals take place in an air-conditioned tent with Dan V. Klein, formerly of Christie’s & Phillips, conducting the sales.
Penland’s campus, a mountaintop of breathtaking beauty in rural Western North Carolina located near Asheville, is the atmospheric setting for the auction. Exhibitions of the contributed work form the centerpiece of the weekend that includes a collectors’ lecture, cocktail reception, dinner, live and silent auctions, and party on Friday. Phil Sanders, Director and Master Printer at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York, will present the Collectors’ Lecture entitled Making Art: The Craft of Collaboration. Saturday’s events begin with coffee at Penland’s resident artists’ studios, followed by a silent auction, lunch, and the second live auction.
The 2007 auction highlights Penland's print and letterpress programs and is celebrating the opening of the Paul Hayden Duensing Letterpress and Print Studio. The studio, opening in June, greatly expands Penland’s programmatic capabilities in these areas and enables the school to offer outstanding workshop opportunities in a new 6,000 square foot building. At the request of John and Robyn Horn, who are important supporters of the new building and of Penland's programs, the building is named in honor of Paul Hayden Duensing, a venerated letterpress printer, typographer, collector, and teacher.
The 2007 auction also features a special tribute to Norm and Gloria Schulman, with guest speaker Jun Kaneko. Norm Schulman, a respected ceramic artist and a beloved teacher, has influenced several generations of American ceramists. Gloria is a photographer and a dedicated community servant. Both have been active members of the Penland community for several decades.
Tickets for the weekend of events are $350. Tickets may be purchased separately for Friday for $150 and Saturday for $200. Tickets may be purchased by calling 828.765.2359, x 45, or by emailing auction@penland.org. Absentee bids are accepted with a $25 bidder fee.
Sponsors for the weekend include A&B Construction, Blue Ridge Printing, Expressions of Culture, Inc., producers of the SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York expositions, Our State Magazine, Progress Energy Carolinas, Wells Fargo Insurance Services of North Carolina, and WNC magazine.
Founded by Lucy Morgan in 1929, Penland School was originally an outgrowth of a craft-based economic development project Morgan had started several years earlier. Today, the school encompasses 400 acres and 45 buildings, and more than 1,200 people come each year seeking instruction. The school’s teachers are a mix of university faculty and full-time studio artists; they include some of the most respected practitioners in craft. In addition to classes, Penland sponsors artists’ residencies, a community education program, and the Penland Gallery, which welcomes thousands of visitors each year. For additional information about Penland School of Crafts, call 828.765.2359 or visit www.penland.org.
About Penland School of Crafts:
Penland School of Crafts is a national center for craft education located in Western North Carolina. Penland offers workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. The school also sponsors artists’ residencies, community education programs, and the Penland Gallery and Information Center. Penland is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution which receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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"As a life-long resident of western North Carolina I can’t imagine a more beautiful or diverse place to live and work."
D. Samuel Neill
Attorney-At-Law & AdvantageWest Board Member
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