Wendell Castle

Photo by Contributed photo by Garry Geer

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"Hanging in the Balance," a sculpture by Wendell Castle, was created in 2002 and acquired in 2003 by the Spencer Museum of Art at Kansas University. An overturned bronze chair rests on a pillow molded from jelutong wood. The dark chair provides a stark contrast with the trompe l'oeil beige pillow.

Photo by Image courtesy of Spencer Museum of Art

Spencer Museum of Art director Saralyn Reece Hardy and artist Wendell Castle during a visit to Castle's studio.

Photo by Photo by Spencer Museum of Art photographer Ryan Waggoner

"Dark Wish," by Wendell Castle (stained ash with oil finish, 2012)

Photo by Photo courtesy of Wendell Castle

"What We Know" and "What We Dream," by Wendell Castle (stained ash with oil finish, 2012)

Photo by Photo courtesy of Wendell Castle

"A Secret of a Few," by Wendell Castle (stained ash with oil finish, 2012)

Photo by Photo courtesy of Wendell Castle

"Curious Paradox," by Wendell Castle (nine tables made of stained ash with oil finish, 2012). This piece was part of the recent "Wendell Castle: Volumes and Voids" exhibit at Barry Friedman Ltd. in New York City. The gallery billed the exhibit this way: "Multiple dimensions are explored as Castle expands on the possibilities of voids and volumes. Castle augments, re-configures, and gives girth to many familiar shapes — mirror-image chairs, a settee, desk and tables — and the end result is of a new magnitude — fluidly merged, amorphous elements form surprisingly functional furniture."

Photo by Photo courtesy of Wendell Castle

"A New Environment" by Wendell Castle, an installation of stack-laminated pieces spanning two stories was recently exhibited at Friedman Benda in New York City. According to the gallery: "Inviting dreamers to imagine, Castle incorporates seating pieces, a table, a lamp and a spiral staircase leading to a nest resembling a tree house. A culmination of Castle’s own history of ideas and the resolution of formidable technical challenges, this dynamic environment offers Castle’s public a bewitching play of abstraction, function, and fantasy."

Photo by Photo courtesy of Wendell Castle

Artist Wendell Castle, often called the father of the art furniture movement, announced that he would give this work to Kansas University's Spencer Museum of Art. The polychromed fiberglass sculpture, entitled "Nirvana," was created in 2007. It is the third in a series of eight "Nirvana" chairs. KU honored Castle, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees from KU, with an honorary doctorate degree in 2013.

Photo courtesy of the artist

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Ronald Olsen

Velva Nea Rice