JEFF GLODE WISE

JEFF GLODE WISE Biography

Art and the making of objects have defined Jeff Wise’s entire life. After graduating from East High School in downtown Denver CO., where he fully immersed himself in a wildly diverse world of music, culture and serious study, Wise opted to end his formal studies. Instead, he turned to traveling, hungry for every encounter possible. He feels fortunate to have been able to support himself as an artist his entire life, enjoying the process of making objects from myriad materials, always thrilled by the ballet and balance of it. In addition to his purely sculptural work, architecture has been of parallel interest. He has built 3 significant art homes and received commissions for architectural landscaping projects in cast concrete, welded steel, and glass. Wise has lived most of his life in Durango CO. with his wife Susan, who is also an artist.

JEFF GLODE WISE Description

Jeff Glode Wise makes wildly exuberant sculptures. He utilizes such diverse materials as steel, wood, stone, glass, concrete, bronze and gold -whichever is the most appropriate for the aesthetic and functional purposes at hand, and transforms them through various techniques: welding, carving, casting, meticulous fitting, plating. The craft is always impeccable (honed for years through his practice of jewelry making) and the concept intriguing.

“The concept of being balanced while riding the very edge of falling off is at the heart of my work”, says Wise. “This applies to my imagery and forms as well, where I’m always looking to shift things beyond symmetry.”

Which leads him -and us- to his playful kinetic sculptures, both delicate ones for indoors and outrageous ones for outdoor settings.

Although not formally trained as an artist, Wise has always made his living through his art. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions throughout the US and in Spain and Germany, and can be found in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American Art, Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art in Denver, CO.

JEFF GLODE WISE Statement

"The concept of being balanced while riding the very edge of falling off is at the heart of my work. This applies to my imagery and forms as well, where I’m always looking to shift things beyond symmetry."

JEFF GLODE WISE Resumé

Museum Collections
2018    Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art, Denver CO. permanent collection
2007    Boston Museum of Fine Arts, permanent collection
1998    Museum of Art and Design, New York City, NY, permanent collection
1996    Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American Art, Renwick Gallery,
    Washington, D.C., permanent collection

Public Art Placement
2020    Durango Art Center, “Embrace” permanent lobby installation, Durango CO.
2019    Rincon subdivision, “Rincon Ascending”, corporate, Durango CO.

Selected Exhibitions
2022    Solo Show: "Online New Artist Introduction", Sculpturesite Gallery, CA
2021    Solo Show: “Evidence of Unlikely Events”, Space Gallery, Denver CO.
2021    National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi TX
2020    Solo Show: “Opening Outward”, Littleton Museum, metro Denver CO.
2020    Inter Gallactic Open, ShockBoxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach CA.
2019    Group Show, Space Gallery, Denver CO.
2018    Art Prize Fair, Grand Rapids MI.
2018    Speaker: Colorado Metalsmith’s Assoc. Annual Conference, Salida CO.
2014-2016     Sculptural Objects Functional Art/William Zimmer Gallery, Chicago IL.
2015    the Essential Figure, Lakewood Art Center, metro Denver CO.
2015    Solo Show, Todd Reed Gallery, Venice CA.
2014    3-person collaborative exhibition: “Different Eyes”, Durango Arts Center
2002-2006    The Art of Gold/Traveling Exhibition: Mint Museum/Charlotte NC.,
    Arkansas Art Center/Little Rock AR.,  
    Crocker Museum/ Sacramento CA.,
    University of Richmond VA.,
    Anchorage Alaska Museum of Art
2003    Extreme Metal, Tallahassee Museum of Art FL.
1999     Washburn University Sculpture Invitational, Washburn IN.
1998     Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos NM.
1993     Hipotesi Gallery, Barcelona Spain
1989     Glass and Metal Exhibition, Pforzheim Germany

Selected Awards
2015    Jurors Award, the Essential Figure Show, Lakewood Arts Center, Lakewood CO.
2009    Second Place Award, Saint Louis Art Show
2007    First Place, Headley Whitney Museum/Design Competition, Louisville KY.
1992    Excellence in Design Award, Philadelphia Art Museum Craft Show,
    Philadelphia, PA.
1988    Jurors Award, Southwest Arts Festival, Albuquerque, NM.
1987    First Place, Art in the Rocky Mountains States, Denver, CO.
1987    Best of Show, Colorado Artist Craftsman Annual Show, Denver CO

Instructor & Juror
Florida Metalsmith’s Assoc., Instructor, 3-day mechanism workshop, 2019
Penland School of Art, North Carolina, Instructor, two-week metals workshop, 2003 American Craft Council Shows, Juror, 1993, 2002
Worchester Center for Crafts, Worcester Ma. 3 day workshop 1998
Taos Pueblo, Society of North American Goldsmiths, Instructor, 5-day workshop, 1997 Philadelphia College of Art, Instructor, three-day workshop, 1994.
Northern Arizona University, Instructor, two-day lapidary workshop, April, 1990.
Escola de Ljotja, Barcelona, Spain, Instructor, two-week seminar, 1993.
Loyola University, Chicago, IL, Instructor, two-day lapidary workshop, 1992.
New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair, Juror, May 1990