May 8, 2002

Contact: Vickie Hamilton-Smith, School of Fine Arts, (785) 864-9742.

KU fine arts school announces convocation, award winner

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas School of Fine Art's 2002 convocation is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18, in the Lied Center. The keynote speaker will be KU alumnus Wendell Castle, this year's Fine Arts Distinguished Achievement Award recipient. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

Castle (BFA industrial design, 1958; MFA sculpture, 1961) has been a sculptor, designer and educator for more than 30 years. He is known throughout the world for his innovative designs in wood, plastic and bronze. He has been recognized many times over for his contributions to the design and art fields in the United States, having received numerous awards, grants and honors for his accomplishments.

In the fall of 2001, Castle contributed to the success of the second annual KU Fine Arts Collage Concert. He donated for auction a coat rack of polychromed wood titled "Unaware," which helped generate funds for the Fine Arts Educational Enhancement Fund, created in 2001 to provide student travel grants.

The 500,000th Steinway & Sons piano, for which Castle was commissioned to create the art case, was featured during the concert. The piano was taken off tour in California so it could make its Kansas debut during the Collage concert.

Castle's one-of-a-kind functional pieces are represented in many major museums and corporate collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; The Chicago Art Institute; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; NationsBank, Atlanta; and American Express, New York.

His current pieces are in galleries across the country, including New York City, Chicago and Seattle. Over the years, Castle has been commissioned by various public and private organizations to create indoor and outdoor site-specific works.

In addition to having a strong career as an artist, Castle has contributed to the education of aspiring artists. He began teaching in 1960 at KU, later joining faculties of the Rochester Institute of Technology and the State University of New York at Brockport. Many of his students have gone on to teach and have successful careers in the arts and design field.

Castle is on the staff of RIT as artist-in-residence and is asked to exhibit, lecture and teach at many educational institutions throughout the world.