The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines proportion as ‘the relation of one part to another.’ Pleasing proportions render the whole harmonious, symmetrical and agreeable. I feel that this is central to good furniture design. With considered, but rough, mathematical proportions arrived at visually, I strive to create furniture which is graceful, balanced and sensuous. I

Mark Taber’s artistic world is one of other people’s “junk” assembled to create fantastical chariots. These assemblages of everyday objects that the Rhode Island native, born in 1943, has been making for over twenty years are often whimsical but also a trip into “a parallel reality,” as Taber says. Music informs Taber’s visions as well, sometimes

Kenn Speiser, born in 1946, grew up in New York, and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in sculpture. He has remained in Providence, where he actively combines his talents as a sculptor and printmaker with various business and non-profit endeavors. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis “Scrod”

A native of California, Wendy Wahl was born in 1961 and received a BA from California State University, Northridge, before leaving for the Rhode Island School of Design, where she obtained an MAE. Known for her sculptural work with paper and site-specific installations, she lives in West Kingston, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue  

Nicole Chesney, born in 1971, moved to Providence seven years ago, after undergraduate studies at the California College of Art and the Massachusetts College of Art, as well as an MA from the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Written and Performed by Michael Delia “Piece

Jillian Barber, originally from England, grew up in Westerly, Rhode Island. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design where she studied ceramics with Norm Schulman and glass with Dale Chihuly. Barber has had a career in ceramic sculpture, mask making and costume design. She brings a passion for portraiture to her mythical and

Life’s course does not always follow the planned route. These days, as time allows, I am drawn to the sea, to bask in its restorative powers. I was raised on the water, the daughter of a sailor, and have always had an emotional response to the sea’s energy. I paint from life, plein air, in

I am a painter who has lived and worked in Providence, Rhode Island for the past forty-one years. I received my BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1971 and my MFA in 1973. My paintings have been in the form of two series: one of self-portraits and the other of

David Barnes is a Newport artist with a long trajectory of success as a painter and teacher in Rhode Island. He received a BFA from the University of New Hampshire and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. His recent paintings have reflected his interests in the art historical past as well as the technological, fast-paced present—particularly the Internet.

Looking back throughout my 40 years of photographing what do I see through that clear singular reflective lens of time? From my first photograph, a self-portrait with dark glasses and a beret, to my most recent photograph, a self-portrait in a rat temple in Bikaner, India, the one word that jumps out at me is

Barbara Owen received a dual degree in sculpture and poetry at Bennington College. She wrote a creative thesis under the direction of the poet Ben Belitt, studied sculpture with Brower Hatcher and painting with artist Sidney Tillim. Her work has been featured in numerous venues nationally and in 2016 she was asked to exhibit with

A Pittsburgh native, Boris Bally received a BFA in metals from Carnegie Mellon University. Not afraid to take on the “form versus function” dilemma, Bally is a master of blending fine craft and popular culture. His work is both witty and innovative, employing the use of jeweler’s skills on non-precious materials. His current body of work transforms recycled street signs,

Mary Beth Meehan is a photographer whose work explores issues of culture, community, and visibility. She undertakes long-term, in-depth projects, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, RISCA, RICH, and others. “City of Champions,” her first public installation, in her hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, was featured on the New York Times LENS blog,

Born in Rhode Island in 1963, Stephen Brownell has a degree in botany from the University of Rhode Island, but pursues a painting career at his Providence studio. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Still Photography: Scott Lapham, Erik Gould Music: DB Leonard Executive Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D

James Reynolds, born in 1962, graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, and studied metalsmithing in San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico. He works from his studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Executive Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D. Additional resources: Artist’s website: jamesreynoldsmetalwork.com

McDonald Wright transferred from the Pennsylvania College of Technology to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he graduated with a BFA in photography. He lives in Providence, and continues to use a manual camera and film photography over digital technology. Source in: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue   Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Debra Mann Additional

Originally from East Providence, Rhode Island, Tony Ramos was born in 1944, obtained a BA in art from Southern Illinois University and MA from California Institute of the Arts, Valencia. He lives and paints in France. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Video excerpts: “Hydroscapes,” Electron Movers © 1976, Laurie McDonald, Alan Powell, Philip Palombo,

Denny Moers is known for his highly imaginative, technically innovative monoprints created by controlling the action of light on the chemicalsensitized photographic paper during the print developing process, giving his black and white photographs an extraordinary range of tonalities. He has photographed subject matter as diverse as New England architecture, medieval wall frescoes and tomb

Rosanne Somerson is the president at the Rhode Island School of Design, she came to the institution as a freshman photography major but quickly discovered the joys and challenges of woodworking and furniture design. Studying with Tage Frid, she received a BFA in Industrial Design in 1976, eventually teaching in the program and helping to

Jerold Ehrlich studied sculpture at Connecticut College. He has lived in Austria, Italy, and Japan and now resides in Narragansett, Rhode Island. His material of choice is rebar, which is found around construction sites where Ehrlich has spent much time in one of his other lives. Rebar is the skeletal armature for poured concrete. Surrounded

John Udvardy retired from a thirty-four year career teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design where he chaired the Foundation Studies program and taught three-dimensional design. A sculptor who seeks to make connections between natural and manmade forms, Udvardy collects and categorizes his objects in his studio in a way that indicates what an

A musician and visual artist, William Schaff is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, and works from his studio in Warren, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue   Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: “Spooky Will” performed by William Schaff, I Love You & I Miss You Accordian Tune, “Lioness” Songs: Ohia, The Lioness ©

Tayo Heuser’s father was in the diplomatic corps; she was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up attending French schools in Europe and Africa. She came to the Rhode Island School of Design, pursued post-graduate study there and obtained her MFA from Vermont College. Originally a painter, but becoming known for sculpture, Heuser today has

Jessica Deane Rosner was raised in Manhattan and received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she majored in enameling. Back in New York, Rosner worked in enamel and then jewelry before relocating to Cranston, Rhode Island, almost thirty years ago. She began to work in pen and ink, eventually finding satisfaction in

Andrew Raftery’s roots were in East Providence, from where his first generation Irish father came. He grew up in Washington, D.C., made his first print at the age of eleven, and attained a BFA from Boston University and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Raftery, a professor of printmaking at the Rhode Island

Julie Gearan enjoys exploring a narrative in her painting; she describes herself as “a painter of themes that connect human relationships of past and present, linking ancient myths with our current everyday lives.” She also is interested in the portrait as a genre, and has recently been selected to paint the official portrait of Governor Lincoln D. Chafee. Gearan received

Malcolm Grear was born in Kentucky in 1931, trained as a welder in the Navy and studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He is Professor Emeritus in Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he taught for thirty-eight years, and is known for his “visual identity” work through his firm, Malcolm

My inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere, and I truly mean everywhere. I probably cannot find a place in the known universe, especially the unknown, in which I don’t find some inkling of interest that might someday or another translate into a piece of artwork, video, or performance. But I don’t dwell on that. Its a

Lucas Foglia’s recent photography exhibition at Brown University’s David Winton Bell Gallery, “A Natural Order,” portrayed people who left cities and suburbs to move off-grid in the southeastern United States. A graduate of Brown, Foglia, born in 1983, received his MFA in photography from Yale University in 2010. His impressive curriculum vitae belies the fact

Peter Marcus’ recent focus is on “The New American Family,” the title of his recent exhibition at the Newport Art Museum. Marcus creates large-scale composite prints using a unique collagraph printmaking process. He says that his work crosses boundaries between painting, printmaking and drawing. As a professor of art at Washington University in St. Louis,

  “‘Written in Stone,’ as the saying goes. This is my work. Tap, tap, tap, announces the dance between mallet, chisel, and stone. The idea of a sculpted surface or dimensional plane with letters carved upon it adds a literal and physical element to the understanding of the words. For fourteen years, I’ve been a

Bob Dilworth, born in 1951, received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; he is currently professor and chair of the art department at the University of Rhode Island. He resides in Providence. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Additional

A multi-disciplinary artist, Lisa Perez makes abstract sculptural paintings, objects and works on paper that investigate attention, perception and spatial dimension. Fusing the subtle edges between mediums, her practice takes a malleable approach to form. The work invokes minimalism initially, but slowly one encounters an unfolding of playful extremes in color, shadow, form, and a

Nicholas Benson, at the age of 15, began an apprenticeship at The John Stevens Shop with his father, John Benson. This shop in Newport, RI, founded in 1705, specializes in the design and execution of one-of-a-kind inscriptions in stone. Architectural and memorial lettering is generated by hand with a broad-edged brush in the manner of

Peter Prip, the son of Danish master metalsmith John Prip, was born in Denmark, shortly before his father came to teach at the Rhode Island School of Design. Prip attended the Rochester Institute of Technology, School for American Craftsmen, and after an apprenticeship with Ronald Pearson, launched a career as a studio metalsmith and jeweler.

Deborah Baronas grew up on a New England farm and came of age as a designer in the textile industry. These working cultures have influenced her artistic investigations into the history of the American worker. Textiles are Baronas’ primary medium. In site-specific installations she creates interactive environments with scrims, paintings, drawings, video, music and photography.

Neal Walsh, born in Rhode Island in 1969, graduated from the University of Rhode Island and received important artistic training as the studio assistant for Pawtucket-based Polish artist Wlodzimierz Ksiazek. He serves as Gallery Director for AS220. Source in: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Edited by: Saulius Sruogis, Richard Goulis Additional footage: Jill

Gail Whitsitt-Lynch’s art reflects her curiosity and fascination with animate structures, examining how and why they appear over and over again in nature. With her work she hopes to draw viewers into a dialogue, intending to widen the definition of artists’ community. She explores a variety of materials, both two- and three-dimensional. Wood is the

Hank Gilpin enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design to do graduate work in photojournalism after serving as a photojournalist in Vietnam. He instead discovered the joy of woodworking under the influence of instructor Tage Frid, who convinced Gilpin to enter the world of studio furniture. After apprenticing with Frid, Gilpin established his shop

Dean Snyder’s sculpture has been characterized as “uncanny ‘graphical’ organicism experienced through seamless assemblies of highly considered forming, molding, and lamination.” Drawing plays a large role in Snyder’s studio. A native of Philadelphia, Snyder received a BFA in photography and sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1974; a British Arts Council Fellowship for

“Nature is my model, sometimes literally, always conceptually. With clay and glaze I imitate nature. With function and form; color and texture; history and need, I attempt a layering of forces and structures similar to that found in natural things like flowers.” Lawrence Bush is a potter, collaborator, and educator who has taught ceramics at the Rhode Island School of

Saberah Malik, of Warwick, has combined the traditional and the innovative in both her art and her life. The daughter of an Indian civil engineer, Malik was a first generation Pakistani who grew up traveling throughout Pakistan, absorbing the region’s art and culture. She received her BFA and MFA in graphic design and was awarded

Erminio Pinque is the founder and artistic director of BIG NAZO, an international performance group and creature-making studio in Providence. Originally from New York, he has lived in Providence since receiving his BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he now teaches a course in creature creation. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue

Irene Lawrence is a painter, printmaker, and maker of books as well as a musician who studies the cello and the viola da gamba. Born in California, she grew up on Long Island and came to Providence, where she lives, to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. Lawrence’s work is characterized by an integration of rhythmic strokes using monochromatic

Performance art was the catalyst for David Allyn’s career as a ceramic artist. His gigs as “Uncle Thirsty” led him to make ceramic cups, which he says led to a “more grounded” approach to his craft. Using photo decals and silkscreen printing on porcelain, Allyn creates one-of-a-kind handmade porcelain objects, filled with color and imagery.

Paul Housberg creates site-specific works in glass for corporate, hospitality, healthcare and public environments. He says, “my work explores the juxtaposition of order and randomness, as well as the natural human tendency to seek pattern in chaos, our persistent desire to find meaning in disorder. I’m inspired by the ordinary, yet strangely beautiful, phenomenon of

David DeMelim pursues parallel explorations in printmaking and photography. He earned a BFA from the University of Rhode Island, studying with Bart Parker and Chris Cordes, and has been involved in advancing computer driven printing technology. With a focus on the built landscape and its human connections, DeMelim considers form, weight and proximity in his

Originally from New Orleans, Coral Bourgeois, born in 1954, received her BFA from Northern Texas State University. An artist who works with tiles, her studio is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue   Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Miles Stenhouse and the Road to Ruin Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D. Additional Information: