Artist Statement
A great deal of my practice over the past decade has been wrapped up in trying to improve my ability to see; to see form, to evaluate formal relationships and to visualize that which I want to create. Making, assessing, scrutinizing, making again; a tedious process of incremental gains. It is this practice that has led to my current curiosity and investigations into the physical nature of sight and the peculiarities of vision in relation to the ways in which we perceive the world. Utilizing a variety of mediums, I constantly search for ways that material can express not only my amazement with our perceptual faculties, but also my frustrations with apparent systematic shortcomings.
Bio
Granite Calimpong received his BFA in Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts and Music from UC San Diego where he was introduced to working with glass. Calimpong moved to Seattle in 2007 to become involved in the thriving glass community that exists in the region. He has worked as an artist assistant, a fabricator, and maintained his own studio in the city for the past twelve years. Calimpong has shown his glass work across the nation and has taught numerous workshops at institutions including the Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
Education
- Master of Fine Arts, University of Washington, Seattle
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of California San Diego
Exhibitions
- 2019, Cobblestones and Lumber: UW X SFAI, SFAI Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
- 2019, Surplused, UW Surplus, Seattle, WA
- 2018, Water Bends Light Doesn’t, CMA, Seattle, WA
- 2018, 10 Etudes for Summer, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- 2017, Glass Biennial, Boehm Gallery at Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
- 2016, Visiting Artist Residency, Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA
- 2016, Hot Glass Residency, North Lands Creative Glass, Lybster, Scotland
- 2016, Parallelgenres, Morgan Contemporary, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2014, Halfway to Somewhere, Schack Arts Center, Everett, WA
- 2014, Halfway to Somewhere, Hodge Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2014, Considering Design, Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
- 2013, Collaborative Residency with Brent Rogers, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2012, 50 x 50, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
Committee Members
- Amie McNeel, Committee Chair (3D4M)
- Doug Jeck (3D4M)
- Michael Swaine (3D4M)
- Phillip Thurtle (Comparative History of Ideas)
- Emily Zimmerman (Director and Curator, Jacob Lawrence Gallery)
