Press release from Penland School of Crafts:
The Penland School of Crafts 33rd Annual Benefit Auction will take place on August 10 and 11 on the historic Penland campus, north of Asheville. The gala weekend event includes live and silent auctions, food, receptions at the Penland Gallery and the studios of Penland’s resident artists, and displays of work donated by Penland’s current and former instructors, resident artists, and core fellows. Absentee bidding is available. All proceeds benefit the programs of Penland School.
The featured artwork this year, by Tim Tate, is titled 8 Bats 4 Seasons. It is a wall-mounted piece that contains an arrangement vibrantly-colored bats and seasonal foliage made of cast resin. Through the clever use of multiple mirrors, the objects are reflected back in receding layers that seem to stretch to infinity. The piece is inviting and mysterious in equal parts.
Also part of the auction are works by textile artist Natalie Chanin, ceramic sculptor Cristina Córdova, woodworker Wendy Maruyama, steel sculptors Hoss Haley and Mike Rossi, glass artists Benjamin Cobb and Alex Gabriel Bernstein, potters Gail Kendall and Ben Owen III, jewelers Stacey Lane and Tara Locklear, and printmaker Jun Lee. Along with these works are more than 200 pieces in books, clay, drawing, glass, jewelry, metals, photography, printmaking, textiles, wood, and mixed media.
During the weekend the school will honor the late Doug Sigler as the 2018 Penland School of Crafts Outstanding Artist Educator. Sigler, who died earlier this year of a heart attack, was a close neighbor of the school, a widely respected furniture maker and educator, and an instructor at Penland since the 1960s.
The auction begins on Friday, August 10 with a preview of the auction work, a tribute to Doug Sigler, cocktails, music, a silent auction, dinner, and a live auction. Saturday’s festivities will start at 9:00 AM with coffee and pastries and an open house at the studios of Penland’s resident artists. This will be followed by a silent auction, luncheon, and a live auction. The weekend finishes up with a reception at the Penland Gallery. The auctioneer is Mark Oliver of Bonham’s auction house in London.
All events take place on the Penland School campus in Mitchell County, North Carolina, near Spruce Pine and 52 miles north of Asheville. Weekend tickets are $395, Friday tickets are $255, and Saturday tickets are $285. Absentee bidding is available for a $25 fee, which includes a color catalog. Reservations are required, and the event often sells out. For more information or to make reservations, call 828-765-2359, ext. 1204, e-mail auction@penland.org, or follow the auction link at www.penland.org, where you will find a complete schedule, registration information, a PDF of the auction catalog, and information about absentee bidding.
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