Artist, Benjamin Cobb
Penland School of Crafts Holds Annual Benefit Auction
The 31st annual Benefit Auction of Penland School of Crafts will take place Friday, August 12, and Saturday, August 13, 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 beautiful displays of work donated by Penland’s current and former instructors, resident artists, and core fellows. All proceeds benefit the programs of Penland School, an international center for craft education.
“Our featured artwork this year is a monumental elephant mask by Wendy Maruyama,” says director of communications Robin Dreyer. “The eight-foot-tall piece, made from wood panels held together with string, is closely related to the work in Maruyama’s touring exhibition titled The wildLIFE Project, which is currently on display at the Penland Gallery.”
Also part of the auction are works by glass artists Dean Allison, Benjamin Cobb, Richard Ritter, and Billy Bernstein, furniture maker Doug Sigler, iron sculptor Elizabeth Brim, wood sculptor Tom Shields, potter Ben Owen III, and a special collaboration between eastern North Carolina potter Daniel Johnston and Western North Carolina potter Suze Lindsay. Along with these works are more than 200 pieces in books, clay, drawing, glass, jewelry, metal, photography, printmaking, textiles, wood, and mixed media. The table centerpieces, which will be sold during the weekend, are a menagerie of delightful papier mâché animals made by Asheville artist Margaret Couch Cogswell.
During the weekend, the school will honor Paulus Berensohn as the 2016 Penland School of Crafts Outstanding Artist Educator. “He is a potter, a book artist, and a legendary workshop teacher,” says Robin. “He has been involved with Penland School since the 1960s and has lived near the school for nearly 40 years.” Paulus is the author of Finding One’s Way with Clay, one of the most influential books in American craft, and he is the subject of the recent documentary film, To Spring from the Hand.
The event begins on Friday, August 12, with a preview of the works, the tribute to Paulus Berensohn, a silent auction, dinner, and a live auction. Saturday’s festivities will start at 9 a.m. 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 Matthew Haley of Bonham’s auction house in London.
The Penland School campus is in Mitchell County near Spruce Pine. Reservations are required, and the event often sells out. Weekend tickets are $385, Friday tickets are $225, and Saturday tickets are $275. Absentee bidding is available for a $25 fee, which includes a color catalog.
For more information or to make reservations, call 828.765.2359, ext. 1204, e-mail auction@penland.org, or follow the auction link at penland.org to view a complete schedule, registration information, and a PDF of the auction catalog.
