Fred Fenster (born 1934) is a metalsmith and professor emeritus of the

University of Wisconsin at Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

where he taught art and education. He is particularly known for his work in

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...

, influencing generations of metalsmiths. Fenster was named a Fellow of the

American Craft Council The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council hosts national craft shows and conferences, publishes a quarterly maga ...

in 1995.

Career

Fenster received his B.S. in industrial arts from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

in 1956. After teaching industrial arts in the Bronx he went to

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cr ...

where he worked with Richard Thomas. His fellow students included

Stanley Lechtzin Stanley Lechtzin (born 1936) is an American artist, jeweler, metalsmith and educator. He is noted for his work in electroforming and computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM). He has taught at Temple University in the Tyler Sc ...

, Michael Jerry, and Brent Kington. He received his M.F.A. in metalsmithing from Cranbrook in 1960. He spent the summer of 1960 working at the

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in the town of Henrietta, New York, Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree ...

with

Hans Christensen Hans Christensen (7 June 1906 – 17 May 1992) was a Danish footballer. He played in one match for the Denmark national football team The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelandsholdet'' ...

. He then worked for Roger Berlin in a company doing

silversmithing A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

and industrial fabrication, In 1961 Fenster became a professor at the

. After more than 40 years at Madison, he became a professor emeritus in 2005. Fenster lives in

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. A suburb of Madison, it is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 35,967 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is the second-most populous city in Da ...

. Fenster is a colleague and friend of Eleanor Moty. Their works were featured together in the exhibition and accompanying catalogue ''Metalsmiths and Mentors: Fred Fenster and Eleanor Moty'' (2006) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a founding member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG).

Work

As a metalsmith, Fenster is influenced by the simplicity of

Scandinavian design Scandinavian design is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the early 20th century, and subsequently flourished in the 1950s throughout the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sw ...

. Fenster makes objects that are both beautiful and usable, including jewelry, holloware, and flatware, using gold, silver, copper, and pewter. He is often commissioned to make Judaica and liturgical objects such as

Kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...

cups. Fenster uses scoring and bending techniques to create elegant three-dimensional forms with clean, graceful lines.

Awards

* 1984, American Pewter Guild award * 1995, Fellow of the

* 1999, Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award * 2002, Hans Christensen Sterling Silversmiths Award, Society of American Silversmiths * 2004, Renwick Alliance Award for Excellence in Teaching * 2005, Gold Medal, American Craft Council * 2011, Master Metalsmith, Metal Museum, Memphis, Tennessee * 2015, Lifetime Achievement Award, Society of North American Goldsmiths

Museums

Fenster's works are in collections including the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...

Minnesota Museum of Art The Minnesota Museum of American Art ("The M") is an American art museum located in the Historic Pioneer Endicott building in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The museum holds more than 5,000 artworks that showcase the unique voice of American artists from ...

National Ornamental Metal Museum The Metal Museum, formerly called the National Ornamental Metal Museum, is a museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by artist-blacksmith James Wallace, the museum is devoted to exhibitions of metalwork and public programs featuring metalsmiths. ...

National Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenster, Fred 1934 births Living people 20th-century American artists American metalsmiths Fellows of the American Craft Council