About Caldwell Arts Council Gallery

"Fourteen Hands, Three Years: Penland Resident Artists" brings the work of seven artists from the acclaimed Penland School of Crafts to the Caldwell Arts Council Gallery Jan. 15–Feb. 12. Current Penland resident artists featured in the show include Devin Burgess, who creates hand-blown and surface-treated glass sculpture, bead artist David K. Chatt, book maker and mixed media sculptor Margaret Cogswell, jewelers and metalsmiths Jeong Ju Lee and Amy Tavern, sculptor Daniel Marinelli and wood furniture maker Sarah Martin.

"This is the third time we've featured the Penland residency artists, and I always love it when we do their shows because we never know what's coming," says Lee Carol Giduz, Executive Director, Caldwell Arts Council. "The artists are exceptional and they always bring new energy to the gallery. A few of the people in these shows have gone on to be pretty renowned, and there's a little bit of the 'we had them first' feeling. It's exciting that we saw them before the rest of the world knew they were out there." She says they've included people like ceramist Christina Cordova and glass artists Greg Fiddler.

The Penland exhibition is one of ten shows held annually at the Caldwell Arts Council Gallery. Three are annual events: the Caldwell County Elementary Student Art Show in February, Caldwell County Visual Artist Competition in October and Satie's Holiday Show & Sale in December. A committee of regional artists programs the remaining shows, which feature North Carolina artists as well as artists from other states.

"The committee tends to anchor shows with someone from the region, but we've also had artists from California and different places," Giduz says. "Because The Arts Council's mission for the gallery is partially educational, the exhibitions committee has always felt that one way to achieve that goal is to bring in people who aren't from the area to show what's happening in other places."

"Fourteen Hands, Three Years: Penland Resident Artists" opens Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. with a reception hosted by the Lenoir Women's Club and continues through Feb. 12. The Caldwell Arts Council Gallery is located in the Caldwell Arts Council Building, 601 College Ave SW, Lenoir and is open Tuesday–Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

The Caldwell Arts Council also programs an Art in Healing Gallery located within Caldwell Memorial Hospital at 321 Mulberry Street SW in Lenoir. Visitors can enter the hospital gallery from the Mulberry Street entrance daily from 8 a.m.–7 p.m.

Artwork: "Simpleton" by Margaret Cogswell