Arline Fisch

Arline Fisch is an American artist and educator, who works with metal as her medium.

Life

Arline Fisch (born 1931) was born in New York City. She learned to sew and weave from her mother and picked up a passion for the color red from her father while growing up in New York. She studied at Skidmore College, receiving her B.S. in Art in 1952. She received her M.A. in Art in 1954 from the University of Illinois. After teaching for two years at Wheaton College, she traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, on a Fulbright Grant to study silversmithing. She has received three additional Fulbright grants, one to conduct further research in Denmark and two to lecture in Austria and Uruguay. She has taught at Wheaton College, Skidmore College, and San Diego State University, where she retired in 2000. She has exhibited extensively all over the world in group shows and solo exhibitions.

Arline Fisch is best known for the way she handles metal in her pieces. Her book, Textile Techniques in Metal for Jewelers, Textile Artists and Sculptors, is a demonstration of the techniques she developed while trying to combine the textures of weaving with a metal material. She works with thin wire to create forms that have been manipulated in similar ways to knitted or braided fabric. She has cited jewelry of ancient cultures as being a continued reference and inspiration for her work.

Education

• 1952 B.S. in Art, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
• 1954 M.A. in Art, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
• 1956–57 Danish School of Arts and Crafts, Copenhagen
• 1957 Bernhard Hertz Guldvaerefabrik, Copenhagen
• 1959 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Liberty, Maine
• 1964 School for American Craftsmen, Rochester, New York
• 1966–67 University of Copenhagen and Apprentice School for Gold and Silversmiths, Copenhagen
• 1969 private study, Gabrielsen's Guldsmedie, Kolding, Denmark
• 1970 private study, Gilian Packard and Company, London, England
• 1971 private study, Stig Berg's Solvzmedie, Copenhagen, Denmark

Teaching

• 1961–2000 San Diego State University, Professor of Art. She also founded its program in Jewelry and Metalsmithing in 1961.^[2]
• 1957–1961 Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, Instructor in Art
• 1954–1956 Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, Instructor of Art

Honors and Awards

• 2002 Doctor of Humane Letters, Skidmore College
• 2001 Gold Medal, American Craft Council
• 2000 Honorary Membership, Society of North American Goldsmiths
• Distinguished Craft Educator Award, James Renwick Alliance
• 1996 Outstanding Professor, San Diego State University
• 1994 Award, “Lifetime Achievement in the Crafts", Nat. Mus. of Women in the Arts, Wash. D.C.
• 1990 Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award, SDSU
• 1989 Fulbright Grant, Lecturer, Montevideo, Uruguay
• CSU Award for Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
• 1986 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
• 1985 Declared a "Living Treasure of California" by Resolution of California State Assembly^[3]
• 1982 Fulbright Grant, Lecturer, Vienna, Austria
• 1981 NEA Services to the Field Project Grant
• 1979 NEA Craftsman's Workshop Grant (Project Director)
• 1977 NEA Craftsman's Apprentice Grant
• 1975 National Endowment for the Arts Craftsman's Fellowship
• 1966 Fulbright Research Grant to Denmark (plus three-month extension)
• 1956 Fulbright Research Grant

In 2002 an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Skidmore College; in 2006 a fifty thousand dollar fellowship award from United States Artists in support of her creative work; and she is honored by the Fresno Art Museum Council Of 100 as the Distinguished Woman Artist for 2012, for which the exhibition, "In the Garden of Delight: Adornments by Arline Fisch," is a celebration.^[2]

Professional

• Trustee, American Craft Council, (1994-2000)
• Board of Trustees, Haystack Mt, School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine (1973–1982,1991–2000)
• President, Society of North American Goldsmiths (1982–1985)
• Fellow of the American Crafts Council, Class of 1979
• Vice President for North America, World Crafts Council (1976–1981)
• Craftsman-Trustee, American Crafts Council (1972–1975)
• Founding Member, Society of North American Goldsmiths (1969)

Publications

• Fisch, Arline et al (Mar 1, 2000). Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch (English & German Edition). Stuttgart: Arnoldsche. ^{[4] [5]}

• Fisch, Arline (Oct 1, 2003). Textile Techniques in Metal: For Jewelers, Textile Artists, & Sculptors. NY:Lark Books. ^{[6] [7]}

• Fisch, Arline (Mar 1, 2009). Crocheted Wire Jewelery: Innovative Designs & Projects by Leading Artists. NY:Lark Books. ^{[8] [9]}

Collections

• Kunstindustrimuseet, Oslo, Norway
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Museum of Applied Art, Trondheim, Norway
• Museum of Arts and Design, New York City
• National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
• National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin
• Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
• Vatican Museum, Rome
• Victoria & Albert Museum, London^[10]

Selected exhibitions

• 1955 - "American Jewelry and Related Objects", Huntington, West Virginia plus touring section
• 1957 - .S. Education Foundation in Denmark, SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1958 - "Young Americans", Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NYC
• 1962 - Pasadena Museum of Art – SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1963 - "California Crafts III", Oakland AWARD
• "Jewelry International", Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York
• 1964 - USIA Traveling Exhibition to Latin America
• 1965 - "California Design Nine", Pasadena Art Museum, California
• "Art of Personal Adornment", Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York
• 1967 - Kunstindustrimuseet Copenhagen, Denmark – SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1968 - Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York City – SOLO EXHIBITION Museum West, San Francisco – SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1969 - "The Egg and the Eye" – Los Angeles, California – SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1970 - "Goldsmith 70", Minnesota Museum of Artand Museum of Cont. Crafts, NYC
• 1971 - Goldsmiths Hall, London – SOLO EXHIBITION
• Lee Nordness Galleries, New York City – SOLO EXHIBITION
• "Form and Quality", International Handicraft Fair, Munich-GOLD MEDAL AWARD
• "Schmuck-Objekte", Museum Bellerive, Zürich
• 1972 - "5000 Years of Gold Jewellery", Goldsmiths Hall, London
• 1973 - The Slocumb Gallery, Johnson City, Tennessee – SOLO EXHIBITION "Tendenzen – 73", Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim
• 1974 - First World Crafts Exhibition, Ontario Science Center, Toronto
• "Kreativer Schmuck", 32 International Jewelers, Basel, Switzerland
• 1975 - Florence Duhl Gallery, New York City – SOLO EXHIBITION
• "Contemporary Crafts of the Americas", tour sponsored by Smithsonian Institution
• 1976 - "Theme: Jewellery", Special Exhibition of Swiss Industries Fair, Basel
• "Six Contemporary American Jewellers", Electrum Gallery, London
• 1977 - Southwest Missouri State University – SOLO EXHIBITION
• "Schmuck 77 – Tendenzen", Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim
• 1978 - "Craft Art and Religion", Vatican Museum, Rome
• "Modern American Jewelry", Tokyo, Japan
• "Sculpture to Wear", La Jolla Museum of Art, California
• 1979 - "International Jewellery Art Exhibition", Tokyo, Japan
• 1980 - Electrum Gallery, London, England – SOLO EXHIBITION
• "International Jewellery 1900–1980", Vienna, Austria
• 1981 - FISCH AND HU, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, Oregon – DUO EXHIBITION
• "Der Goldene Faden, Texturen in Gold" Schwabisch Gmund – PRIZE
• 1982 - Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna – SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1983 - Electrum Gallery, London, SOLO EXHIBITION
• International Jewellery Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan. Catalog
• 1984 - "Jewelry USA", American Craft Museum, NYC
• Contemporary Jewellery, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
• 1985 - Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, SOLO EXHIBITION
• AMERICAN JEWELRY NOW, USIA touring exhibition
• "New Tradition: The Evolution of Jewellery 1966–85", British Craft Centre, London
• 1986 - International Jewellery Exhibition, Tokyo, Catalog
• "Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical", American Craft Museum, NYC, Catalog
• "Perspectives: International Spirit in Jewellery", Basle, Switzerland, Catalog
• MacQuarie Galleries, Sydney, Australia SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1987 - "Woven Gold", Concepts Gallery, Carmel, CA SOLO EXHIBITION
• "Woven Gold", Electum Gallery, London, SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1988 - "Woven Gold", Galerie am Graben, Vienna, SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1989 - Museum of Fine Arts, Montevideo, Uruguay. SOLO EXHIBITION
• "Smykker I Metal: 10 International Jewellers". Copenhagen, DK
• "Craft Today USA", USIA exhibition touring Europe. Catalog
• 1990 - "Ornamenta 1" International Jewelry Exhibition, Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim. Catalog.
• "Woven Gold Spirit Houses" Hand & Spirit, Scottsdale, AZ. SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1991 - "Schmuckszene 91", Munich Handcraft Fair, Germany and Ireland
• 1992 - "Design Vision" International Triennial, Art Gallery of Western Australia
• "American Crafts: The Nation's Collection", Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.
• 1993 - "Lifetime Achievements", Nat. Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis (catalog)
• "Contemporary Jewellery", TRIO Exhibition, STUDIO COM Gallery, Kyoto
• 1994 -Fanourakis Gallery, Athens, Greece. SOLO EXHIBITION
• "School of Fisch", Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg, Denmark, Catalog
• 1995 - "School of Fisch", DesignYard, Dublin, Ireland
• "In Our Hands", 3rd International Competition, Nagoya, Japan
• 1996 - "Textile Techniques, New Work", Connell Gallery, Atlanta, GA SOLO EXHIBITION
• "American Revelations", Shipley Gallery, Gateshead, UK, Catalog
• "New Times, New Thinking: Jewellery in Europe and America", Crafts Council, London
• 1997 - "Celebrating American Craft, 1975–95" Danish Mus. of Decorative Art, Copenhagen
• "Portrait of Masters in the Crafts", Int'l Handwork Fair, Munich, Germany. Catalog.
• "Designed for Delight: Alternative Aspects of 20th C. Decorative Arts", Canada. Catalog
• "Textile Techniques in Metal", Electrum Gallery, London. SOLO EXHIBITION
• 1998 - "American Metalanguage", Barbican Center, London SOLO EXHIBITION
• "Jewellery Moves", National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh
• 1999 - "Fish by Fisch", Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA SOLO EXHIBITION
• 2000 - "Elegant Fantasy: Jewelry by Arline Fisch", SD Historical Society, SOLO RETROSPECTIVE
• "Aluminum by Design:Jewelry to Jets". Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
• "Alles Schmuck", Museum fur Gestaltung, Zurich
• "Women Designers in the USA: 1900–2000" Bard Center for Studies in the Dec Arts, NYC
• 2001 - "Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch":, Oakland Museum, CA SOLO
• "Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch":, Textile Museum, Washington DC SOLO
• "BRAID", Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg, DK
• 2002 - "Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch":, American Craft Mus.,NY, SOLO
• "Small Works". Longhouse Reserve and MDS Gallery,Tokyo, Curated by Jack Lenor Larsen
• 2003 - "The Art of Arline Fisch", Tang Museum, Skidmore Coll., Saratoga, NY SOLO RETROSPECTIVE
• "The Art of California Gold", Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
• "The Art of Gold", traveling exhibition organized by SNAG
• "Boston University's Program in Artisanry", Fuller Museum of Art. Brockton, MA
• "Planting, Potting and Pruning, Artists and the Cultivated Landscape", Racine Art Museum, WI
• "Flechten", Handwerks Pflege in Bayern, Munich, Germany
• "International Showcase", Contemporary Applied Arts, London, UK
• 2004 - "Die Danner Rotunde",Schmuck in der Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
• "California Design 2004", San Francisco
• "Master and Student", National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
• 2005 - "Transformations, The Language of Craft", National Gallery of Australia
• "Scents of Purpose, Artists Interpret the Spice Box", Cont. Jewish Museum, San Francisco
• 2008 - "Ornament as Expression: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch", Racine Art Museum, August 24, 2008 – December 12, 2008
• 2008 - from August 3, 2008 – July 26, 2009 "Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep", Racine Art Museum. Racine, WI

References

Sources

• Artist Statement and Resume
• Artists Spaces’ “Big, Bold, Bright.”
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Artist Biography
• Arline Fisch: Hanging Gardens