WENDELL CASTLE: A PORTRAIT captures the life of a master furniture artist, designer, sculptor and educator and traces his prolific career through the decades. Through Castle's own words and interviews with family, friends and colleagues, viewers also learn about his early years as an artist, his creative process and the vision for his work. Born in Emporia, Kansas in 1932, Castle received a bachelor's in fine arts in industrial design and a master's in fine arts in sculpture, graduating from the University of Kansas in 1961. In 1962, he began teaching at the School of American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was on staff as an artist in residence until his death on January 20, 2018 at the age of 85. An artist for more than 60 years, Castle is often credited as the "father of American Studio Furniture and Art Furniture Movements," joining function with fine art. More than 100 of his works are installed in museums and galleries worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The hour-long documentary spans his body of work, looking at his distinct stack lamination masterpieces in wood, his technicolor gel-coated fiberglass pieces, and the 500, 000th Steinway piano he was commissioned to create. Castle's wife, Nancy Jurs, a well-known potter, shares how they met and discusses details about his work and technique. Castle's daughter Alison and step-son Bryon Jurs also provide insight into Castle's medium and process. Additionally, the film visits Castle in his Scottsville home and studio and provides a unique opportunity to observe Castle at work as he creates his "Dizzy" chair - chronicling the process from his original drawings to the finished work of art. It was one of the last chairs Castle created before passing away in 2018.
