Craig M. Frederick

Craig has been studying, making and teaching sculpture since 1981. Born and raised in Connecticut, Craig was influenced by the New England countryside changing with the seasons and filled with rolling hills, valleys cut by rivers and streams, outcroppings of colored stone, and towering deciduous and conifer trees. In contrast, his small urban town was a typical rust belt community suffering from years of boom and bust. A factory town in its glory days, it found itself home to people of many different cultures who brought their skilled labor to the industries. After the factories left, the town and its people fell into a depression the effects of which impacted Craig’s life, views and work. His concerns and philosophy are global, and he believes art is for all people. His sculptures are informed by these influences and by poetry, existential thought, psychiatry, mythology, perception, physics and the human figure. In a review of Craig’s sculpture, “Sparrow,” Steve Starger of The Art Guide writes in the January 2007 issue of the Northwest edition, “The piece is simultaneously complex and simple, strong and vulnerable, a visual haiku that releases the poetry immanent in natural objects.”

Craig holds a B.A. from Skidmore College and an M.F.A. from The University of Pennsylvania. His works are in private, corporate, and public collections in numerous states and countries. Craig’s pieces range in size from maquettes to monumental structures, and have been exhibited in fine galleries in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Along the way, Craig has worked in three arts foundries where he continued to hone his skills in methods of casting, stone and woodcarving, and metal hammering and fabrication.

In addition to his own artwork, Craig has been teaching art since the mid 1980’s in various educational institutions across the USA including The University of Pennsylvania (Figure Sculpture), Galveston College (Metalsmithing/Jewelry) and Central CT State University where he has been teaching art since 2004. Courses taught by Craig at CCSU include Three-Dimensional Design, Sculpture, Digital Photography, Drawing and Media Arts. Craig has also held Sculpture classes and lectures for groups and individuals in his private studio and gallery periodically since 1994.

Craig considers the revitalization of New Britain, Ct and the development of a vibrant arts community in his hometown as a very important part of his Life Work devoting some 15-20 hours per week of volunteer and consultation time for nearly 20 years. Lastly, during this same time of his life, Craig has served as producer, juror and/or curator for many and various art shows and institutions in Ct and NY.