The Montgomery Fellows Program invites you to look at the productive labor of three remarkable craftspeople and discover within their work—and within yourselves—a sense that shaping a world with one's hands brings value and purpose to all our lives.
All talks are in Alumni Hall (Hopkins Center) from 5–6 pm.
Sources of Inspiration
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Michael Hurwitz has been making studio furniture since earning a BFA from Boston University in 1979 and has held a commitment to "make furniture that enriches people's lives by serving both a functional and an aesthetic purpose." His honors include being named a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2014, and his work is represented in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia Museum of Art. He maintains a studio in Philadelphia, PA.
"I enjoy Hurwitz's extensive variation of designs, the beautiful repeating patterns, and his broad range of materials used in traditional and unique applications. His panoramic consideration of overall design coupled with the smallest details makes his pieces flow with sensitive coherence." — Greg Elder (director, Dartmouth's woodworking workshop)
Art, Humor & Narrative in Pueblo Pottery
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Diego Romero has built a career constructing ceramic vessels that elevate Pueblo life to Olympian stature. A member of the Cochiti Pueblo tribe, Romero has developed an extensive exhibition record since earning an MFA in 1993, with works housed in significant public collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cartier Foundation, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Denver Art Museum, the British Museum, the Scottish National Museum, and the Hood Museum (Dartmouth College). His studio is in Santa Fe, NM.
"I admire Diego's ability to seamlessly reference the ancient, such as Mimbres pottery and Greek mythology, while clearly creating contemporary ceramics. Diego's position in contemporary ceramics is completely unique and I am very excited that he will be a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth." — Jenny Swanson (director, Dartmouth's ceramics workshop)
My Journey With Metal
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Marilyn da Silva tells stories through imagery and representational elements in metalwork. Currently Professor and Program Co-chair of the Jewelry/Metal Arts Program at California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA, she was named a Fellow of the American Craft Council In 2007. Her art is in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including those in Oakland (CA), the Museum of Modern Art in Seoul, the National Gallery of Australia, and the Indiana University Museum.
"I've often heard da Silva's work described as visual poetry. It also resembles how dancers tell a story: they use movement, light and sound to express the emotion in a narrative; da Silva uses color, form, and materials blended with carefully chosen images to tell complex stories without words." — Jeff Georgantes (director, Dartmouth's jewelry workshop)
"The question of what a good job looks like—of what sort of work is both secure and worthy of being honored—is more open now than it has been for a long time. Wall Street in particular has lost its luster as a destination for smart and ambitious young people. Out of the current confusion of ideals and confounding of career hopes, a calm recognition may yet emerge that productive labor is the foundation of all prosperity." —Matthew B. Crawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work