www.langmangallery.com

LAWRENCE FEIR: RE-CONFIGURATION
Recycled Assemblages

September 1 – 30, 2010

Lawrence Feir is an artist-sculptor who frequently scours scrap yards and trash bins looking for that special something to add to his next sculpture.  Feir creates and fabricates his unique mixed media sculptures crafted from various materials including stainless steel flatware, metal scrap, wire, and steel fasteners.  His figurative sculptures, You-Tensils, are female torso forms consisting of hand-formed and welded recycled flatware.

As a metal and "found object" artist, Feir possesses a discerning eye for discovering weathered or clean, funky, character-loaded materials.  He usually has a shopping list of sorts for this junkyard visits, otherwise, he states "If you drag everything home, it would be like Sanford and Son", referring to the former TV sitcom about a junk dealer.    Invariably, he spots something intriguing that spawns a new idea.  “It is my hope that my sculptures invoke a feeling of peacefulness punctuated with spontaneous whimsical energy.”  He visits these yards at lunchtime, where he winds his white pickup truck down dirt roads to back stacks of metal and wears a red jacket so that workers can see him. 

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lawrence attended Parsons School of Design, NY, before moving on to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he focused on figurative study and photography.  In 1990, Lawrence worked as a photographer when one of his commercial shoots landed him on the tarmac of the aircraft maintenance facility TIMCO.  By 1995, Lawrence worked for many of the major U.S. airlines and frequently contributed to Aviation Week, Space Technology, and Airways International.  He worked as chief photographer for the airlines until September 11^th, 2000.  The terrorist attacks made it nearly impossible to make a living in aerospace photography.  At this time Feir turned his creativity back toward sculpture and the fine arts.  His sculptural works range up to 28 feet in height and permanently on view at the Natural Science Center, Greensboro, NC, and numerous private collections across the country.

Since 1972, Langman Gallery has presented unique handmade crafts and fine art by American artists and designers.  Recently named one of NICHE magazine’s Top Retailers of 2009, the gallery features fine contemporary crafts including ceramics, furniture, glass, jewelry, lighting, paintings, prints, and sculpture.  The annual Top Retailer Awards program recognizes craft galleries who are committed to growing and strengthening the North American craft community.  Our gallery is located adjacent to Bloomingdale's in Willow Grove Park.  Hours are Monday–Saturday, 10-9:00; Sunday 12-6.