CHAD FONFARA WAS BORN IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA IN 1974. HE IS A VISUAL ARTIST PREDOMINANTLY KNOWN FOR HIS SCULPTURAL WORK IN HAND BLOWN GLASS, THOUGH INITIALLY TRAINED IN WOOD, CLAY AND BRONZE MEDIA. GROWING UP, FONFARA WAS TAUGHT TO APPRECIATE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND WORKED WITH HIS HANDS THROUGH THE GUIDANCE OF HIS FATHER, WHO WORKED AS A CARPENTER AND WOODWORKER. HAVING ALWAYS BEEN DRAWN TO FORMS AND INTERRELATIONS IN NATURE, HIS FOCUS ON THE ORGANIC INTRICACIES HELPED SHAPE HIS CURRENT BODY OF WORK, CONDEMNATIONS, PRESENTLY BEING SHOWN AT HABATAT GALLERY IN ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN.

FONFARA RECEIVED HIS BFA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA KEARNEY (UNK) IN 1996 AND HIS MFA FROM KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY IN 2003. AFTER UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES HE SPENT TIME WORKING AS A CARPENTER IN THE NORTHERN WOODS OF MINNESOTA WHERE HE ALSO CONTINUED DRAWING AND BUILDING SCULPTURES. IN 2006, HE ACCEPTED A TEACHING POSITION AT UNK, CHALLENGING HIM TO NOT ONLY WORK WITH, BUT TEACH THE ART OF GLASSBLOWING. TO REFINE HIS GLASS SKILLS MORE, FONFARA, STUDIED AT PILCHUCK GLASS SCHOOL AND THE CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS. IN 2010, FONFARA WON A SCHOLARSHIP TO THE CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS TO STUDY WITH WILLIAM GUDENRATH IN THE WORKSHOP, AN IN-DEPTH STUDY IN VENETIAN TECHNIQUES.

FONFARA HAS EXHIBITED IN THE STRECKER-NELSON GALLERY IN MANHATTAN, KANSAS; MOSS-THORNS GALLERY OF ART AND FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY IN HAYS KANSAS; MANIFEST GALLERY, CINCINNATI, OHIO; SAVILLE GALLERY, CUMBERLAND, MD; AMES MANSION MUSEUM, EASTON MA; SMOKY HILL ART COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION, SALINA, KANSAS; FRED SIMON GALLERY, OMAHA, NEBRASKA; AND THE MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ART, KEARNEY, NEBRASKA.

THE FINE ART PRINTS BY CHAD FONFARA REPRESENT THE DOCUMENTATION OF HIS HOT-SCULPTED GLASS SCULPTURE SERIES, CONDEMNATIONS, AN INVESTIGATION AND REACTION TO THE DISASTROUS AND NATURAL PHENOMENON THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE SUBURBS OF ARKANSAS WHERE HUNDREDS OF RED-WINGED BLACK BIRDS FELL FROM THE SKY DEAD. FONFARA EXAMINES THE NUANCES AND UNIQUENESS OF THE DISARRANGED SHAPES WHERE IN DEATH THE BODIES HAVE BECOME HIGHLY INDIVIDUALIZED AND EXPRESSIVE. THESE PRINTS ARE BEING OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH BICYCLE FINE ART.

 

A Selection of Glass Sculptures by Chad Fonfara: