Windgate Fellowship Sends Houston Sculptor Back in Time
Houston sculptor returns to the place where he started his metal work career in Brooklyn, NY as the recipient of the Windgate Fellowship at Urban Glass. Explains how he will apply the new techniques he learns to his current body of work.
Brooklyn, NY, July 27, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Things tend to travel in circles, and sometimes they come back around at just the right moment. As an artist selected for The Windgate Charitable Foundation’s Visiting Artist Fellowship, James Ciosek will come full circle with his artisanal metal working roots and learn new glass techniques for creating his lighted sculptures.
Fresh out of N.Y.U. and squatting in the Lower East Side of 1994, sculptor James Ciosek cut his metalworking teeth as a mold maker for Flickinger Glass Works, on Pier 41 in Redhook, Brooklyn. Twenty years of welding, blacksmithing and fine art sculpture later, the now Houston-based artist will return to Brooklyn for August and September, 2013. With a grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation he plans on studying neon, slump bending stained glass, and enameling at Urban Glass in Park Slope.
Ciosek’s main interest in studying glass mediums is to continue his “Constructed Chaos” series of light totems. These sculptures rely on the backlighting of material that has randomly generated patterns of holes in it. Houston critic Robert Boyd called them “. . .a magical experience.” Redbud Gallery, Houston, hosted a long term solo show of the original formal series, with works being placed in several collections, including that of Peter and Anne Brown.
“As much as I love a monolith, the next phase of light sculptures will not be limited to the shape of a fluorescent bulb if I can learn to do neon,” says Ciosek. He plans on incorporating slump bent glass as color lenses, and experimenting with enameling to create a cracked, “raku-like effect, with its own randomness.” Ciosek states, “I am really thankful for the award. When the call for the Fellowship came up, I just thought it was a perfectly logical direction to go with the light totems- to go into glass. And then I realized how much my time at Flickinger Glass Works doing lamp work was actually influencing the “Constructed Chaos” series. The Fellowship basically completes a twenty year loop.”
With an ambitious schedule of six planned works, Ciosek will present them at the end of the Fellowship, t.b.a. He is also looking forward to becoming reacquainted with New York City, meeting up with old musician friends, surfing R.I., eating real pizza, purchasing a tri-state fishing license, and visiting family up north.
Biography
With a cumulative twenty year background in the high end glass and blacksmithing sectors, James Ciosek focused his energies on sculpture beginning 2004. In 2006 Ciosek moved to Houston and is making a mark as an award winning art car artist, youth art bike advocate, and respected metal and mixed media sculptor. In 2013 he had solo shows at Redbud Gallery (“Constructed Chaos”) and Lawndale Art Center (“Human Hamster Wheel”), both in Houston. Ciosek represents the technically advanced craftsman who makes a successful leap over to the fine art world.
Fresh out of N.Y.U. and squatting in the Lower East Side of 1994, sculptor James Ciosek cut his metalworking teeth as a mold maker for Flickinger Glass Works, on Pier 41 in Redhook, Brooklyn. Twenty years of welding, blacksmithing and fine art sculpture later, the now Houston-based artist will return to Brooklyn for August and September, 2013. With a grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation he plans on studying neon, slump bending stained glass, and enameling at Urban Glass in Park Slope.
Ciosek’s main interest in studying glass mediums is to continue his “Constructed Chaos” series of light totems. These sculptures rely on the backlighting of material that has randomly generated patterns of holes in it. Houston critic Robert Boyd called them “. . .a magical experience.” Redbud Gallery, Houston, hosted a long term solo show of the original formal series, with works being placed in several collections, including that of Peter and Anne Brown.
“As much as I love a monolith, the next phase of light sculptures will not be limited to the shape of a fluorescent bulb if I can learn to do neon,” says Ciosek. He plans on incorporating slump bent glass as color lenses, and experimenting with enameling to create a cracked, “raku-like effect, with its own randomness.” Ciosek states, “I am really thankful for the award. When the call for the Fellowship came up, I just thought it was a perfectly logical direction to go with the light totems- to go into glass. And then I realized how much my time at Flickinger Glass Works doing lamp work was actually influencing the “Constructed Chaos” series. The Fellowship basically completes a twenty year loop.”
With an ambitious schedule of six planned works, Ciosek will present them at the end of the Fellowship, t.b.a. He is also looking forward to becoming reacquainted with New York City, meeting up with old musician friends, surfing R.I., eating real pizza, purchasing a tri-state fishing license, and visiting family up north.
Biography
With a cumulative twenty year background in the high end glass and blacksmithing sectors, James Ciosek focused his energies on sculpture beginning 2004. In 2006 Ciosek moved to Houston and is making a mark as an award winning art car artist, youth art bike advocate, and respected metal and mixed media sculptor. In 2013 he had solo shows at Redbud Gallery (“Constructed Chaos”) and Lawndale Art Center (“Human Hamster Wheel”), both in Houston. Ciosek represents the technically advanced craftsman who makes a successful leap over to the fine art world.
Contact
James Ciosek- Metal Smith and Sculptor
James Ciosek
713-906-7052
www.jamesciosek.com
James Ciosek
713-906-7052
www.jamesciosek.com
Contact
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