GoggleWorks Center for the Arts (GoggleWorks) announced the upcoming arrival of three national artists participating in their 2022 Summer Artist-in-Residency program: Kate Rusek, Nathan Tietbohl, and Janine Wang. The residency program, which has hosted 15 artists from six countries, is a 10-week juried live-work residency. Beginning June 6th the artists will take up residence near the art center in downtown Reading and work in its many studios–and now gardens–to collaborate, experiment, and expand their artistic boundaries.
“It’s such a unique opportunity to be able to explore your work creatively for a full summer, especially in a place like GoggleWorks, where nearly anything is possible for makers,” said Tim Compton, Artistic Director. “We are thrilled to offer these artists the opportunity to engage with the city, utilize our resources, and connect with our vibrant network of artists.”
Resident artist Kate Rusek explained, “I plan to focus on an emerging body of work that explores abstractions of organic and oceanic biological forms through the assemblage of reclaimed plastics, metals, and textile. At GoggleWorks, I will be developing new wall based and free standing sculptures on this theme while experimenting with metal and ceramic techniques. Additionally, I plan to revisit the translation of my three dimensional work into two dimensional compositions utilizing repetitive drawing and printmaking techniques.”
Thanks to a grant from the Wyomissing Foundation, Nathan Tietbohl will be the first ever horticulturist to be awarded a summer residency, working out of the new GoggleWorks Gardens at Lauers’ Park. Tietbohl said, “I plan to plant a rain garden and create a natural play space. With a mix of collected and donated elements, I would like to bring play and movement into the gardens. I plan to begin installing a native pollinator garden to provide beauty and food for the new Sweet Relief honey bee program. Through the completion of this work, community members will see the gardens through a new lens, explore, and enjoy the space.”
Janine Wang, whose residency is sponsored by the John and Robyn Horn Foundation, brings a diverse skill set to her work in wood. “I plan to focus on Cuppable Cups, a woodturner’s meditation on the hand,” said Wang. “The project developed during the Windgate ITE International residency at the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia in 2018.” A collection of vessels based on her own hands, the wooden objects are lathe-turned into accommodating gestures, symbolizing the artistic process and bringing rich context to community learning and identity, making and holding.
GoggleWorks’ summer residents are provided housing, living and travel stipends, materials, personal studio space, and access to GoggleWorks’ nine communal studios, to complete a project or body of work. Throughout their time in Reading they can also be found at various GoggleWorks events and community placemaking programs, sharing their enthusiasm for the arts. Leaders said the residency culminates with an exhibition, including a reception on Friday, August 12th, to highlight and celebrate the success of the work completed over the 10-week period.
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