Navigating Restlessness: New Work in Paper and Glass

Keven Brunett and Kristin Thielking are sculptors. They work independently as well as collaboratively. Their work explores concepts relating to language, identity, place, and the human condition. They work in a wide range of materials from glass to cast iron. They both teach at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Department of Art & Design in the 3D/sculpture area and have developed a curriculum there that includes: hot and kiln glass, metal fabrication, modeling and casting processes including metal casting, wearable art, installation, environmental and public art.

Kristin Thielking is from Long Island, NY and received a BA in Fine Art and Comparative Literature from Brown University, RI and an MFA in Sculpture from University of Wisconsin, Madison. Thielking has taught sculpture at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point since 2001. Thielking finds inspiration from working collaboratively with other artists as well as individuals working outside of the arts, such as chemists, oceanographers, poets, marine archeologists, woodworkers and shipwrights. The glass work exhibited here are examples of her current collaborative work with poet, letter-press and book artist and art faculty at East Carolina University, Lisa Beth Robinson. Thielking has also been collaborating for over 15 years with her partner Keven Brunett. They have exhibited their work widely and been commissioned to design and fabricate numerous large-scale public art projects, including permanent and temporary site-specific installations and sculptural design commissions: Wisconsin Percent for Arts commission for the Waukesha State Office Building, Marshfield Clinic, WI, Milwaukee’s Third Ward Arts Walk, Dubuque River Walk, IA, Bank of Wausau, Wisconsin, University of Indianapolis, IN, Magee-Gerrer Museum of Art, OK, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, WI and the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, NY. She has been an artist-in-residence at programs such as the John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry program, WI, Edenfred and the Vermont Studio Center.
Keven Brunett is from Wisconsin and attended U.W. Madison for both his BFA and MFA in sculpture. Brunett has taught sculpture and foundation classes for over 15 years at several universities in Wisconsin, including U.W. Stevens Point, U.W. Madison, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, U.W. Oshkosh, U.W. Marathon County and Fox Valley. He currently lives in Amherst Junction, WI.

Brunett is a sculptor who works in a variety of materials ranging from glass to bronze and steel. He exhibits his work nationally and internationally. He has been commissioned to design and fabricate numerous large-scale public art projects, including permanent and temporary site-specific installations and sculptural design commissions: Wisconsin Percent for Arts commission for the Waukesha State Office Building, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin, Milwaukee’s Third Ward Arts Walk, Bank of Wausau, Wisconsin, University of Indianapolis, Indiana, Magee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Oklahoma, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Westchester, NY, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI, Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. He is currently exhibiting a large kinetic public sculpture at the Art on the River, in Dubuque, Iowa. He is represented by K Allen Gallery in Door County.

Lisa Beth Robinson is the proprietor of Somnambulist Tango Press where she makes artists books, fine art, and collaborative chapbooks and broadsides. Robinson is a mixed-media artist who is transforming materials physically and psychologically in the pursuit of understanding the idea of reading alongside interpersonal, spiritual, and environmental relationships and their global impact. Her media include handmade paper, letterpress printing, collage, and her innovative processes employ principles of physics, botany, and Jungian psychology.

Robinson serves as an assistant professor at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, and serves on the national board of the College Book Art Association. Her degrees are from the Johnston Center at the University of Redlands and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recently, her work has been purchased by institutions such as the New York Public Library, Emory University, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.