51ÉçÇø

Union News & Information

News Release


Nationally acclaimed sculptor
to show at Union

DeStaebler's workJackson, Tenn. - Nationally acclaimed sculptor Stephen DeStaebler will bring the show "Winged Figures" to the 51ÉçÇø Art Gallery, March 24 - April 21. Considered one of the most prominent living sculptors in America, DeStaebler has shown his primarily ceramic work at the National Museum of American Art in the Smithsonian Institute of Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the American Craft Museum of New York City and several other galleries throughout the United States. His work has been well received in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Art in America and the Archives of American Art of the Smithsonian.

DeStaebler will present a formal lecture on the exhibit, April 14, at 7 p.m., in Union's George Harvey Lecture Hall. William Catling, a former student of DeStaebler, will lead studio workshops, April 12, 13 and 14, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the Union Gallery. During his workshops, Catling will create a free-standing figure and a wall piece.

The DeStaebler lecture, the Catling workshops and the DeStaebler reception are open to the public. The reception will immediately follow DeStaebler's lecture. There is a $20 fee per day for those outside the university who would like to participate in the Catling workshops; the fee is $10 per day for non-Union students with identification.

DeStaebler has been based in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1958. His work can be seen throughout the region in several permanent collections, including the Berkeley Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. DeStaebler has permanent public installations throughout the Bay Area also. A permanent public sculpture has been installed at the Newman Center Chapel of Berkeley since 1967; the University Art Museum of Berkeley has featured DeStaebler's "Seating Environment" since 1970; and the Embarcadero stop on San Francisco's BART public transportation system has highlighted DeStaebler's "Wall Canyon" since 1976.

DeStaebler's Union exhibit will include three bronze torsos and 10 framed working sketches. Hailed by leading art critics as among the most provocative in contemporary sculpture, DeStaebler's figures are often reminiscent of the ancient statues of Egypt and the impersonal poses of classical Greek statuary. DeStaebler's similarity with those styles doesn't go much further, according to Karen Mulder, assistant professor of art at Union. His fragmentation of the human body and texturing of his clay or bronze figures has led art critics to coin the term "ceramic expressionism" when speaking of DeStaebler's works, Mulder says.

While DeStaebler's figures are known for their monumental stance and weight, Catling's works are often far less weighty, says Mulder. "They literally seem about to float off their pedestals or wall mounts," Mulder explains. Catling's work has been exhibited at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna, Calif., and the Holocaust Museum in Paris, France. Reviews of his work have appeared in Christianity Today, Art Week, Ceramics and the Orange County Register.

For more information about the event or to book interviews with Catling, contact Nedra Kanavel, director of news and information at Union, at (901)661-5215 or news@uu.edu

Because of limited space in the Catling workshops, reservations will be taken on a first-come first-serve basis. To make reservations, contact Debra Tayloe at (901)661-5378 or dtayloe@uu.edu.

The DeStaebler lecture is funded by the Lyceum Committee at Union; the Catling workshops are underwritten in part by the student-funded Potter's Guild of Union. Patrons of the Union Gallery have contributed to the funding of the entire event.