Four Winds Gallery presents

Guardian Spirit

new and retrospective works by 

Roxanne Swentzell, Ceramicist

Carol Krena, Metalsmith

Mira Nakashima, Woodworker

October 22 - December 31

Meet the artists

Friday,October 22, 6-8pm and 
Saturday, October 23, 11am-5pm

5512 Walnut Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15232

412.682.5092  

The exhibition is a first time collaboration, featuring an assembly of career-spanning pieces. Despite their disparate cultural backgrounds, the artists are similarly informed by a deep reverence for earthly wisdom . The design of Nakashima's live-edge furniture is determined by the natural irregularities of the wood; the spirit of Swentzell's figural clay sculptures originates during the process of coiling the clay; the organic motifs of Krena's timeless jewelry are formed from precious metals and carefully selected stones. The artists' traditional, labor-intensive methods, reflect a commitment to gradual processes and a dirt-under-the-nails connection with the living earth. Today's increasing reverence for nature, truth, simplicity, and the independent spirit makes the lives and work of these incredible women especially meaningful. 
Nakashima, Krena, and Swentzell's intense skills illuminate the personalities of each piece of wood, metal, stone and bit of clay, letting forms arise intuitively in their adept hands. This honoring of material and tradition moves their pieces beyond the functional limits of furniture, jewelry, and figural sculpture. 

Roxanne Swentzell 

Swentzell's clay sculptures communicate the full spectrum of the human spirit. Born in 1962 into a family of renowned Santa Clara Pueblo potters, Swentzell was destined to express herself with clay. Using ancient techniques, layering coil upon coil, she allows the clay to lead her to the human experiences each sculpture reveals. Widely recognized as one of the top sculptors working today, Swentzell has won countless honors and her work is featured in prominent collections, including the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian where she was commissioned to create a permanent installation.  

Carol Krena 

Krena crafts jewelry that inspires awe at the extraordinary beauty the earth has to offer. Born in 1954 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Krena had artistic leanings even in her childhood. With talent, determination, and an intuitive sense of how to best showcase natural materials, she taught herself to make jewelry. Krena's mastery of complex, sophisticated lapidary and metalsmithing techniques has led to an enthusiastic following and landed her works in museums and prestigious private collections worldwide.  

Mira Nakashima
Mira Nakashima is the only daughter of Japanese American woodworker George Nakashima, widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most important furniture designers. Born in 1942, Nakashima spent much of her youth in her father's workshop in New Hope, Pennsylvania. After studying architecture at Harvard and then at Waseda University in Tokyo, Nakashima became an integral addition to her father's studio. After his death in 1990, Nakashima continued his legacy of exceptional craftsmanship and design focused on emphasizing the woodworker's responsibility to the sacrificed tree.

For more information, please contact: 

Four Winds Gallery

Telephone: 412.682.5092

Email: info@fourwindsgallery.com

www.fourwindsgallery.com