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| NEWS John has a small, forged steel piece titled Box for Cynthia in the exhibition "Iron: Forged Tempered Quenched" from January 16 - May 16, 2010 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. hccc@crafthouston.org  Box for Cynthia, forged & fabricated steel, about 5" x 2" x 4", 1993 * * * The amazing Zahner Company crew arrived in Murphysboro on Monday, November 9, 2009 and commenced assembly of the Towne Park Pavilion right away. Here are a few photos of their progress so far, counterclockwise:         Day 3, installing the panels:      John inspecting the progress, day 4.  Photos continue to the right ► * * * Box for Cynthia has been accepted into the upcoming exhibition "Iron: Forged Tempered Quenched" from January 16 - May 16, 2010 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. * * * An upcoming exhibition of American Ironwork titled "Iron 2010" at the Metal Museum, which will include work by John Medwedeff and many other artists: * * *http://www.metalmuseum.org/irontwentyten.html John is featured this week (July 27, 2009) on crafthaus: http://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JohnMedwedeff * * * We have photos of the Towne Park Fountain (working title), with water! * * * Here are photos of Whirl after John and Jesse restored it in June, 2009:  Whirl, forged & fabricated steel & aluminum sculptural shade shelter, 18' x 21' x 8', 2001. Commissioned by urbanArt (a division of the Greater Memphis Arts Council) by national competition. Detail of the bench, below.  * * *
July, 2009: We are awaiting photos of the Pavilion construction progress and will post them ASAP. Here is a photo of the model, in case your memory needs refreshing:  Towne Park Pavilion designed by John Medwedeff * * * May 30, 2009: The Lieber Fountain is now installed! * * * May 14, 2009: We have power at the studio! We are thankful that the storm did not damage our home or shop. Thousands of trees and many structures are damaged in Southern Illinois. Everyone is working together to repair what is broken. Jesse Robinson clearing brush with the forklift. * * *
Harding Academy of Nashville, TN honored John with its Alumni Hall of Fame Award at a dinner Friday, March 27, 2009. * * * "Saturday, March 28th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm you are invited to a reception to celebrate the grand opening of the office space at 1004 Walnut Street and welcome the latest John Medwedeff sculpture to the East End of Walnut Street, at the Law Office of Joni Beth Bailey."  Please join us. John designed and built the Bailey Table, a steel & glass sculptural table (above) for Joni Beth - and the opening of Hilary Chandler and Darby Ortolano's art exhibit is at the same time, same place. * * *
The Park project is coming along again now that the weather is better. John is busy finishing the carving on the updated design for the custom benches, which feature sculptural flourishes and the founding year and name of our fair city, Murphysboro. Work on the Lieber Fountain is also going well. See progress collage at right. * * * Thanks to everyone who attended the opening. It was great to meet new people and see so many friends and neighbors at once in one large room.* * * The opening reception for John Medwedeff: Sculptor & Metalsmith is this Friday, February 6, 2009 from 4-7 PM at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Mitchell Gallery, in the University Museum, Faner Hall.* * * Here is an update we just received from Mathew Clarke, author of the newest book to feature John's work and the work of many other amazing artists. John also wrote the book's forward. New News! Link to Schiffer books "From Fire to Form, Sculpture from the Modern Blacksmith and Metalsmith" http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/book_template.php?isbn=9780764332470 The book is available worldwide, through online and traditional book dealers and trade supply companies and also through the books website www.mathewsclarke.com and www.goodartbooks.com (coming soon) along with other books related to the field of blacksmithing and metalsmithing. * * * John is featured in 2 exhibitions in 2009. He's having a one-person show, John Medwedeff: Sculptor & Metalsmith at The University Museum at SIU Carbondale from January 13-March 6 in the Mitchell Gallery, which overlooks the sculpture garden. The second exhibition is a group show at the Quincy Art Center from January 9-February 13. Here are excerpts from the press release for that show: Event: Opening Reception The Blacksmith’s Art: the Legacy of SIU Carbondale Date: Friday, January 9, 2009 Time: 7:00 – 9:00pm Place: Quincy Art Center, 1515 Jersey, Quincy, IL An opening reception on Friday, January 9, 2009 will introduce The Blacksmith’s Art: the Legacy of SIU Carbondale, a group show featuring artwork by artists primarily from the Carbondale area including those from Murphysboro, Metropolis, Cobden, Quincy, and Ursa, Illinois in the Katherine Gardner Stevenson Gallery. This exhibit has received generous support from the Michelmann Steel Construction Company. An informal gallery talk by blacksmith artist John Medwedeff is planned during the opening reception. Medwedeff’s beautiful 13’ sculpture, Prow, selected for RawSpace at SOFA Chicago in 2006, will anchor the work in the Stevenson Gallery. Medwedeff’s work will be joined by a number of other artists with SIU Carbondale connections. These include: Kent Hilgenbrink of Ursa, Matt Haugh originally of Quincy and now of Murphysboro, IL. Brent Kington of Murphysboro and founder of the SIU blacksmithing program, and Roberta Elliot of Cobden. * * * Towne Park update photos on the right. As of December 1 most of the trees have been planted! More photos soon. Willow was installed at the Boyle Investment Co. in Memphis:    Willow, forged & fabricated steel, Memphis, TN, 2008 * * * John demonstrated bronze forging at the 2008 Southern Illinois Metals Society conference (SIMS) at the SIUC Brent Kington Smithy Saturday, September 27th at 1:30 pm. The conference also featured Ries Niemi and Mike Bondi. The fabulous SIMS Auction was held at Turley Park beginning at 3 pm on Saturday. See more at http://mypage.siu.edu/sims. The latest edition from Schiffer Books features several works by John. Here is the info they sent to us:  "We thought you would be interested in knowing about the release of Ironwork Today 2: Inside & Out by Jeffrey B. Snyder. To view the book please click on this link and you will be directed to our website: http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/book_template.php?isbn=9780764330643 Book Description Hundreds of beautiful color photos display the varied, impressive iron artwork from today's artist-blacksmiths. See a variety of styles, from Modern to Victorian, in original works for homes, offices, and public spaces. This metal art ranges in scope from massive public monuments to small, everyday objects and includes sculpture, gates, railings, furniture, lighting fixtures ranging from chandeliers to lamps and candleholders, doors, locks, and more. Concise text introduces each artist and their work. This book is the second in a series pioneered by the late Dona Meilach and provides readers familiar with her work with a new look at some of the artists they have come to know as well as an introduction to artists not previously known. This book will quickly become a prized possession, critical reference, and inspiration for homeowners, designers, artists, and blacksmiths alike." * * * Faculty Invitational is the title of a group exhibition at the Atrium Gallery, Ball State University in Muncie, IN, from August 26-September 20, 2008. John was invited by sculptor Chet Geiselman. * * * To the right are progress photos of the new Park, as of August 11, 2008. Here is a description of the project:Walnut Street Greenspace (working title: Towne Park), a comprehensive project for our studio, commissioned by the Elizabeth A. Smysor Trust. On August 8, 2008, we completed and installed this bronze fountain (designed by Frederick Biehle of VIA Architecture, built by us) for a residence in Cleveland, Ohio:  A link to the Southern Illinoisan newspaper video about the Towne Park Fountain: http://videos.thesouthern.com/p/video?id=1986628 http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2008/07/09/front_page/25041224.txt July 9, 2008. Click above to read a short article from today's paper about the new park we are building. Progress photos of the park fountain and pavilion design are to the right. We just received word that John is featured for a week on the front page of myartspace.com. After much preparation, ground was broken today, May 27, 2008, on the Walnut Street Park/Greenspace (see description, above) in Murphysboro, IL! May 23-25, 2008 John taught a course titled "The Magnificent 7," which focused on 7 fundamental processes for creating utilitarian, decorative, and sculptural forms at the forge in a context of experimentation and craftsmanship. His son James assisted on this weekend course at beautiful Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA. Recently added: Gifts and Furnishings! April, 2008. What are we working on right now? Here is a list of current projects: Wellspring, forged and fabricated bronze sculptural fountain for the LeClaire Garden Court on the N. O. Nelson Campus of SIU Edwardsville Illinois Capitol Development Board Art-in-Architecture Project (awaiting installation). We have recently added: work for sale A WSIU In Focus program featuring John's recent and past work was shown at 9 PM, Friday, Dec. 7 & 14, 2007. Scroll down the page to John Medwedeff and click on "watch now" to see the first segment (and the other cool shows) in this link: http://www3.wsiu.org/television/infocusarchive/searchresult.php WTTW Chicago's series Arts Across Illinois featured John in October and November broadcasts (Oct 21, 2007 @ 5:30 PM in Chicago; Nov. 25, 2007 @ 9:30 PM in Carbondale). Brent Kington and other blacksmith/sculptors are featured in additional programs that focus on metalsmithing in Illinois. Here is the Medwedeff blurb from the WTTW site:  John Medwedeff's public art is monumental and meticulous. His work blurs the boundary between the world of traditional metalworker and modern sculptor. . . . UrbanArt has commissioned John to create a steel sculpture for the Boyle Investment Company Plaza in Memphis, TN. Here is an article (link below) about the new Murphysboro park John has designed in collaboration with Planning Resources architects in Wheaton, IL. The park will be located next to Sallie Logan Library and construction will begin this winter. This article ran in a Southern Illinoisan newspaper special Murphysboro section. John has also designed a bronze fountain and a sculptural amphitheater pavilion for the project. John has just been awarded a percent-for-the-arts sculptural fountain commission for the N. O. Nelson campus of Lewis & Clark College by the State of Illinois. In September, 2007, John installed a sculptural, bronze stair railing in a residence located in Manchester-By-the-Sea, MA. See the architectural metalwork page for photos. Sculpture Invasion is the title of a group exhibition that included John's work at the Koehnline Museum of Art, July 12 - August 30, 2007.  Prow, forged and fabricated steel, 13' x 8' x 4' John was a panelist and presenter on Public Art for the Professional development seminar at the Society of North American Goldsmiths' conference at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN, June 13, 2007. The University School of Nashville honored John with its Distinguished Alumnus Award. John gave the convocation address to over 500 attendees on Tuesday, May 22, 2007. . . . Fine Art from the Forge: Work by Southern Illinois Blacksmiths was held March 19 - June 2, 2007 in the Gallery Space at 1008 Walnut, Murphysboro, IL. Curated by John Medwedeff, presenting the work of 20 blacksmiths.  John and Metal Museum Director Jim Wallace at the Fine Art from the Forge opening This is an exhibition that celebrates both the work of artist-blacksmiths living in Southern Illinois and the important history of the local blacksmithing community. The work in the exhibition explores diverse uses of iron and mixed media for decorative and sculptural possibilities. In the mid 20th century, a combination of World War II, new technology, changing economies and the emerging movement of Modernism in art, design, and architecture interrupted the rich history of creative work by blacksmiths. In the post-war years, blacksmiths and their skills all but passed into history. The 1960's saw the beginning of a renewed interest in the craft as reaction to an increasingly modernized world, and in concert with counter-culture idealism of the times. By then, the traditional system of handing down skills from master to apprentice had ended. The Fox Fire book series shed some light on the old methods, a handful of "old timers" were still around to teach a new generation, and there were people trying to figure it out their own. Historically, blacksmithing had been one of the building trades. Then in 1969, Brent Kington, Professor of Metalsmithing at SIUC, brought blacksmithing into the academic art world for the first time in the United States. By the mid 1970's the Metals Department at SIUC had become very well known as the one and only graduate program for Artist-Blacksmiths. During this time the nation was swept up in Bicentennial celebrations. To mark the occasion, Evert Johnson, Curator of Art at the SIUC University Museum from 1966 to 1989, curated the 1976 exhibition "Iron - Solid Wrought USA" featuring historic and contemporary ironwork. This further cemented Southern Illinois' place in the growing international blacksmithing community. Jim Wallace, one of Evert Johnson's museum assistants and Brent Kington's graduate students from that time, went on to become Director of the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. Several artists represented in this current exhibition have worked and trained at the Metal Museum as well as at SIUC. In the last 30 years, decorative ironwork has found its way back into architecture and forged iron has become a respected medium for fine art. Graduates of SIUC have started shops and built academic programs across the country. A global community of blacksmiths has come together to fully reinvigorate the profession. The SIUC Metals Department, now under the leadership of Rick Smith, still a center of blacksmithing in the U.S., has continued to foster the work of emerging artists. Several of us who moved here for the educational opportunities decided to settle in the area. The result of all this is that Southern Illinois is home to a thriving and constantly evolving blacksmithing community that occupies a unique place in world of contemporary ironwork. John Medwedeff . . . In January, 2007, John installed a sculptural, bronze, 3-story stair railing in a residence located in Manchester-By-the-Sea, MA. See detail photo of the Manchester Grand Stair Railing, right. A monumental steel sculpture titled Prow (see photo above, 13' x 8' x 4', forged & fabricated steel) was shown November 9-12 at SOFA Chicago in the RawSpace exhibition. Bloom, a bronze sculpture, was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Lars Hoffman in a ceremony at Lewis & Clark College in Godfrey, IL on Tuesday, September 26, 2006. The sculpture was installed Friday, August 11. The May 2006 issue of Smithsonian (pp.28-30) contains an article titled "Forging Its Own Future: Dedicated Metalsmiths Help a Memphis Museum Revive a Lost American Art Form," which quotes John on page 30. Art & Antiques magazine included John in their March 2006 "100 Top Collectors' and What They Collect" issue. He's quoted on p. 154 and the studio is listed on page 152 in an article by Elaine Glusac titled "Then & Now: Iron Forges Ahead." Here is an exerpt: Southern Illinois' John Medwedeff makes both sculpture and furnishings and believes decorative and fine arts inform each other. "When you work at the forge you're manipulating material and changing dimensions," Medwedeff says. "Working with hot iron tends to produce graceful, organic lines. What's inherent in blacksmithing is easily extrapolated into sculpture." |
 January 10, 2010. People rocking out at the Pavilion in the snow and freezing morning weather. Sounds great!  January 8, 2010. Before the snowstorm!    January 4, 2010 - Finer finishwork.    December 30 & 31, 2009 Continuing fitting and attaching the exterior panels  December 16, 2009  December 13, 2009, marking and fitting the exterior panels.  December 13, 2009. View of the interior showing final edge shape guides.   December 10 & 11, 2009  November 25, 2009  * * *  Views of the Sallie Logan Library & Towne Park Fountain forged and fabricated bronze, 11' x 3' x 4', Murphysboro, IL, 2009. Park and fountain commissioned by the Elizabeth A. Smysor Trust.  * * *  The Lieber Fountain, St. Louis, MO, 2009.  Jesse Robinson, Chris Lehr and John (in the wetsuit)  Chris Lehr is shown checking the level of the Lieber Fountain bowl and making adjustments.  Shop photo of fountain progress (from the mezzanine). We have green grass at the Park!  Approaching the amphitheatre area from the Youth Center  A view of the stage from the top of the stairs. The Sculptural Pavilion will be installed here.  View of the Park in progress and the library from the west.   Recent progress photos from Towne Park, March, 2009, showing paths, the amphitheater and fountain.  Progress collage of the Lieber Fountain, residential project, March, 2009.     Photos from the Feb. 6, 2009 opening reception of John Medwedeff: Sculptor & Metalsmith at the Mitchell Gallery, SIUC University Museum: Sue and Mark Gindelsburger near Ocoee; James, Cynthia & John; Chip and Joannie Hilleshiem in front of Dining Table; James Medwedeff in front of the Lawder Firetools and gazing at Wellspring.  Towne Park Fountain in the snow, Feb. 2009    1/24 scale model of the Towne Park Sculptural Pavilion, November 14, 2008. Sculptural Pavilion designed by John Medwedeff and being fabricated by the A. Zahner Company, Kansas City, MO.   Towne Park fountain transport and installation, October 22, 2008       Towne Park construction progress September-October, 2008          Towne Park construction progress, August, 2008   Towne Park Fountain, 1/4 scale model & full size studio photo    Towne Park Fountain, 1/12 scale model views, work in progress, 2008  Murphysboro Towne Park Pavilion, working paper models * * *  Wellspring, forged and fabricated bronze sculptural fountain, progress photo, 2008  Manchester Grand Stair Railing, 32" x 34', forged and fabricated bronze, 2007. See more images on the Sculpture or Architectural Ironwork pages | |
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John Medwedeff Sculpture, Metalsmithing, Furnishings, Collaborative Design of Public Spaces 695 Future Lane Murphysboro, IL 62966 voice 618 687 4304 fax 618 687 5220 cell 618 521 7429 john@johnmedwedeff.com |
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