Penn State Altoona presents work of Michael Radyk

Monday, August 20, 2012 - 630 hits

ALTOONA — An exhibition of work by Michael Radyk will be on display in the McLanahan Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts September 6 - October 14, 2012. A reception will be held 3 - 5 p.m., Thursday, September 6 in the Titelman Study of the Center.

Radyk received his MFA in 2008 from the Rhode Island School of Design and his BFA from Tyler School of Art. He is a recipient of residencies from the Hambidge Center for the Arts and Sciences in Rabun Gap, Georgia and the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, and he is a recipient of a Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant. His most recent exhibition, Outside/Inside the Box, was part of the international art biennial, FiberPhiladelphia. Other exhibitions include New Weave: Five Contemporary Weavers at the Common Wealth Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Fibremen International in Kherson, Ukraine, and Binary Fiction: Digital Weaving at Eisentrager-Howard Gallery, University of Nebraska in Lincoln at the Textile Society of America Symposia. Radyk has also exhibited his work at Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show and the Joan Mondale Gallery at the Textile Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has taught Textiles/Fibers courses and workshops at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), The University of Georgia in Athens and Penland School of Crafts. Currently, Radyk is Professor of Fibers at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

Radyk states, “The process of using the handwoven cloth as a kind of “found” canvas is what moved my series of 10 wall pieces titled “05” into a rediscovery of what can occur on the surface...The embroidered symbols I used in those pieces were inspired by my experience and recovery from a traumatic injury that nearly severed my right arm. Using the oddly x-shaped scar on my forearm as the starting point, I slowly developed the symbols and surface embroidery in conjunction with the regeneration of the nerves, tendons, arteries, and inner workings of my arm. As an artist, I wanted to find a way to represent a simultaneous lack of sensation and painful regeneration, as well as the electrical rejuvenation and constant energy shifts of recovery. The embroidered images and symbols I employ acknowledge both my personal history and my investigation into the slow spill of time, memory, and space.”

The galleries are open Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and before and during all performances. For further information, call the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at 814-949-5452.