Fred Tschida

Fred Tschida (born 1949, Saint Paul, Minnesota) is an American neon artist and professor of glass.[1]

Fred Tschida
Tschida in 2018
Born1949 (age 73–74)
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Education
Known forNeon art and glass art

Early life and education

While attending St. Cloud State University, Tschida interned with glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, who taught him how to work with neon.[2] Tschida earned his M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977 and built the university's first neon studio.[1][2]

Career and work

Tschida's work focuses on kinetic neon sculpture.[3] In "Light in Motion" (1980), Tschida aimed to travel "the speed of light" by mounting a 22-foot neon mast to the top of a Chevy Impala and driving on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, taking a time-lapse photo of the endeavor.[4] A photo of "Light in Motion" was featured on the cover of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly in 1996 for an issue in which his work is profiled by glass art critic and curator William Warmus.[5] [6]

In 1985, Chihuly invited Tschida to teach glass art at Pilchuck Glass School and to establish the school's neon shop alongside Deborah Dohne.[2] In 1991, his installation "Martini Glass" was featured in the American Craft Museum exhibition "Vessels: From Use to Symbol."[7] Curator William Warmus described the intent of the "Martini Glass": "It attracts attention to the exhibition in the same way that signs on neighborhood bars are designed to lure us inside."[8]

In 2006, Corning Museum of Glass curator Tina Oldknow described Tschida as "a mainstay of the influential glass program at Alfred University. She described his work, which involves light, gravity, electricity, mass, and atmosphere as "always inventive and exciting."[9] In July 2007, Tschida was a visiting artist at the Corning Museum of Glass and worked with the museum to make large glass beads for a sculpture.[10]

Tschida taught as Professor of Glass and Design at Alfred University until his retirement in 2015.[2]

Select exhibitions

Awards

Tschida received the 2014 Libensky/Brychtova Award from Pilchuck Glass School, which acknowledges extraordinary talent and high achievement in the world of glass and educational leadership.[2] The award jury described Tschida as a "leading pioneer of neon as an expressive medium" who has "inspired new generations of glass artists."[2]

References
  1. "Light Works". Frost Art Museum Catalog. The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University. 1977-12-16.
  2. "Black and White Gala". 36th Annual Auction Catalog. Pilchuck Glass School. 2014-10-03. Retrieved 2018-11-23 – via Issuu.
  3. Conyers, Elle (2010-04-27). "Fred Tschida's Kinetic Neon Sculpture". View Arts Blog. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  4. Pagel, David (2001-10-10). "Neon Show Hums With Idiosyncrasy". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  5. "Tschida essay by Warmus". www.warmus.us. Archived from the original on 2006-08-24. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  6. "Issue 62 | UrbanGlass". UrbanGlass. UrbanGlass. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2018-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Service, New York Times News. "FULL MEASURE". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  8. "Full Measure". The Chicago Tribune. 1991-02-10. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  9. Oldknow, Tina (2006). "Jury Statements" (PDF). New Glass Review. 27: 72.
  10. Fred Tschida Making Large Glass Beads, Museum of Glass (published 2007-02-27), 2007-07-27, retrieved 2018-11-23
  11. Zimmer, William (1987-03-15). "Art Creations in Neon: Moving Beyond a Gaudy Ancestry". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  12. "Vessels To Lift Or Simply To Look At". The New York Times. 1990-11-12. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
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