ARTIST STATEMENT
Gayle Fichtinger’s ceramic sculpture and ink drawing are the outcomes of intensive nature study and travel to China researching scholars stones and Yixing ceramics. Through her work she responds to her forested natural environment. Disruptions in the growth patterns of trees like fungi, burls, and gnarls draw her attention. Her hope is to elevate the overlooked bits and pieces of nature for a deeper understanding of the ecosystem.
Working on an intimate scale using a smooth red stoneware clay much like the zisha clay used by the Yixing potters, she sculpts natural objects from observation. Carving and mark-making define surface pattern and textures. The clay is fired without glaze to preserve the color and integrity of the material and be closer to its natural state. Her work is meant for contemplation.
Working on an intimate scale using a smooth red stoneware clay much like the zisha clay used by the Yixing potters, she sculpts natural objects from observation. Carving and mark-making define surface pattern and textures. The clay is fired without glaze to preserve the color and integrity of the material and be closer to its natural state. Her work is meant for contemplation.
BIO
Gayle Fichtinger is an artist based in New London, New Hampshire. Her ceramic sculpture and ink drawing are the outcomes of intensive nature study in New England and sabbatical travel to China researching scholars stones and Yixing ceramics. Fichtinger lives and works in the former 1824 Low Plain School-American Legion Hall in the town of New London. Born in 1959, she grew up on a small farm homesteaded by her great grandparents in the 1870's near New Munich, Minnesota. At an early age she found a strong connection to nature and has carried this imagery through all of her work. She holds a MFA in ceramics from Arizona State University in Tempe and a BS in Art from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Fichtinger is a former professor of foundation studies at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia from 2006-2020 and foundations coordinator and faculty at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire from 2000-2006. During her tenure at SCAD, she was awarded a Professional Grant (Florence, Travel Research) in 2010; a Sabbatical Award (China, Travel Research) in 2014; a Presidential Fellowship (Rome, Travel Research) in 2016; and taught at SCAD-Lacoste, France in 2018.
Fichtinger has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions of ceramic sculpture and her works are included in numerous private collections as well as the collections of the Tucson Museum of Art, Arizona State University Art Museum, Danforth Museum of Art, Erie Art Museum, Racine Art Museum, DeCordova Museum, the Czech Ceramic Design Agency, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Articles and reviews of her work have been published in Garland Magazine, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, and The Boston Globe. Her work is featured in Marvin Sweet’s book, The Yixing Effect: Echoes of the Chinese Scholar published by the Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China, 2006.
Fichtinger is a former professor of foundation studies at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia from 2006-2020 and foundations coordinator and faculty at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire from 2000-2006. During her tenure at SCAD, she was awarded a Professional Grant (Florence, Travel Research) in 2010; a Sabbatical Award (China, Travel Research) in 2014; a Presidential Fellowship (Rome, Travel Research) in 2016; and taught at SCAD-Lacoste, France in 2018.
Fichtinger has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions of ceramic sculpture and her works are included in numerous private collections as well as the collections of the Tucson Museum of Art, Arizona State University Art Museum, Danforth Museum of Art, Erie Art Museum, Racine Art Museum, DeCordova Museum, the Czech Ceramic Design Agency, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Articles and reviews of her work have been published in Garland Magazine, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, and The Boston Globe. Her work is featured in Marvin Sweet’s book, The Yixing Effect: Echoes of the Chinese Scholar published by the Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China, 2006.
CV
GAYLE FICHTINGER
Studio Artist, Ceramic Sculpture and Drawing, New London, New Hampshire, USA
BORN
1959, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA
EDUCATION
MFA, Ceramics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 1985
BS Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 1981
College of Saint Benedict, Saint Joseph, MN, 1977-79, Art (Junior Year Abroad, Madrid, Spain)
SELECTED TEACHING POSITIONS
Professor of Foundation Studies, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA, (Winter Quarter 2018, Lacoste, France), 2006-2020
Full-time Faculty, Art / Studio Foundations Coordinator, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, 2003-2006
Adjunct Faculty, Art, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, September 2000-2003
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Presidential Fellowship Presentation, Following Bernini’s Terracotta Angels to Rome, Alexander Hall Theater, SCAD, Savannah, GA, 2017
https://www.scad.edu/blog/gayle-fichtinger-illuminates-romes-great-sculptor
Gallery Lecture, Landscapes: Near and Far, Malone Gallery, Troy University, Troy, AL, 2015
Sabbatical Presentation, Journey to Yixing, Alexander Hall Theater, SCAD, Savannah, GA, 2015
Book Signing with Author Marvin Sweet, The Yixing Effect, NCECA, Pittsburg, PA, 2008
Gallery Lecture, Forest Fragments/Firewood Portraits, Centre Lodge Kiosks Installation, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, 2000
Gallery Lecture, Forest Fragments, The Fells, The John Hay National Wildlife Refuge, Newbury, NH, 2000
Sculpture Commission, Bronze, Fidelity Investments Corporation, Boston, MA, 1999
Studio Artist, Ceramic Sculpture and Drawing, New London, New Hampshire, USA
BORN
1959, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA
EDUCATION
MFA, Ceramics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 1985
BS Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 1981
College of Saint Benedict, Saint Joseph, MN, 1977-79, Art (Junior Year Abroad, Madrid, Spain)
SELECTED TEACHING POSITIONS
Professor of Foundation Studies, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA, (Winter Quarter 2018, Lacoste, France), 2006-2020
Full-time Faculty, Art / Studio Foundations Coordinator, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, 2003-2006
Adjunct Faculty, Art, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, September 2000-2003
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Presidential Fellowship Presentation, Following Bernini’s Terracotta Angels to Rome, Alexander Hall Theater, SCAD, Savannah, GA, 2017
https://www.scad.edu/blog/gayle-fichtinger-illuminates-romes-great-sculptor
Gallery Lecture, Landscapes: Near and Far, Malone Gallery, Troy University, Troy, AL, 2015
Sabbatical Presentation, Journey to Yixing, Alexander Hall Theater, SCAD, Savannah, GA, 2015
Book Signing with Author Marvin Sweet, The Yixing Effect, NCECA, Pittsburg, PA, 2008
Gallery Lecture, Forest Fragments/Firewood Portraits, Centre Lodge Kiosks Installation, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, 2000
Gallery Lecture, Forest Fragments, The Fells, The John Hay National Wildlife Refuge, Newbury, NH, 2000
Sculpture Commission, Bronze, Fidelity Investments Corporation, Boston, MA, 1999