A Brush with Light and Sound

Glenn Grishkoff & Brian Ransom

November 5, 2015 - December 20, 2015

Location: UCF Art Gallery

A 21 year survivor of cancer, and now cancer-free thanks to innovative new treatment, Grishkoff is a beacon for others, communicating the power of creativity amidst difficult odds and utterly human role the arts can play in personal and collective healing. The artist uses white natural felt mixed with his own hair as a symbol of Hairy Cell Leukemia and the act of healing without living in fear.

Brian Ransom uses sound for healing purposes. Brian Ransom performs and exhibits his sound works internationally, and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. He teaches ceramics and sculpture at Eckerd College.



EVENTS:

Private Workshop with Glenn Grishkoff – Wednesday, November 4th  2:00-5:00 PM

Opening Reception with Live Performance –  Thursday, November 5th  6:00-8:00 PM

Public Lecture with Live Performance – Friday, November 6th  1:00 PM

Location: UCF Art Gallery, 12400 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando FL.


 

Artists:

 

– Glenn Grishkoff  is a California-based artist who grew up watching his Chinese-born Russian father grind his own ink and brush iconic glyphs onto rice paper. This childhood memory and his own experience in Asia taught Grishkoff the power of a brushstroke and the spirit of natural materials. The sculptural objects and performances he creates with clay, paper, wood, metal, textiles and hair, reference his own story and the materials he uses. In his work, one sees a reflection of human experience as the artist pays homage to the animal spirit within the physical world.

 

Brian Ransom  All things hollow, or those that are in the form of a vessel, we humans among them, have the capacity to resonate. A resonant sound is produced when sonic waves bombarding off interior walls match peaks and valleys both coming and going.

Resonance has always fascinated me. In creating my sounding ceramic forms, I have formulated a specific clay-body, which yields a surprisingly hollow and haunting voice. All of my pieces are precisely tuned (in both pre and post firing) and, through the movement of air columns, can be highly interactive with audience members and participants.

Yet the metaphorical concept of resonance goes far beyond the realm of sound; in my work, I combine visual, historical, and spiritual resonances as well. I merge research and travel (studying in the Americas, Asia, and Europe) in developing an active dialogue which fuses my investigations into historical content, spiritual approaches to objects and sound, and the technical structures that I employ.. with the creation of new, original ceramic sounding sculptures.

 


 

Biographies

 

Glenn Grishkoff has taught, performed and exhibited his work nationally and internationally in Japan, South Africa and Thailand. He was awarded special invitations from the Shigaraki Cultural Ceramic Park in Japan and from Chiang Dao Artist Residency in Thailand where he collaborated with hill tribe people and the famous “painting elephants”. He has lectured at The Mashiko Museum of Art and The International Workshop Ceramic Art in Tokoname, Japan. The Oregon School of Art and Craft, The LH Project and the Florida Keys Community College have welcomed him as a visiting artist and lecturer. In 2008, Grishkoff was awarded the Idaho Commission on the Arts fellowship grant for his sculptural work. Grishkoff holds a MFA from the Claremont Graduate University and a BFA from California State Fullerton. He currently maintains a studio practice in Palm Desert and Los Angeles and teaches workshops in performance, brush making and ceramics.

 

Brian Ransom is Professor of Visual Art at Eckerd College, a four year liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida.  He is most noted for his sounding sculptures and musical instruments whose primary resonators are ceramic, although they increasingly employ an unusual variety of media and installation venues in their presentations. Ransom’s musical compositions, which he writes for his original ceramic musical instruments, have been featured in recordings, film and video soundtracks and ballet scores throughout the past twenty years. His sounding sculptures have been exhibited and collected internationally.  He has lectured extensively including giving an interactive presentation at Harvard University on acoustics. Among the awards Ransom has received are the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in sculpture, the Fulbright/Hayes Fellowship in Peru, and several state Arts commission grants.