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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Studio/Artist

Artist / Studio

Artist

Carpenter, Ed
Portland, Oregon

Birth Year: 1949

Biography: In 1999 the Michigan State University Board of Trustees established a fund for public art on the campus, both in new buildings and those being renovated.  Artists around the country were made aware of this, via several venues.  Glass artist Ed Carpenter submitted a plan for a building under renovation, Brody Hall.   https://www.publicartarchive.org/
Carpenter‘s grandfather and his architect stepfather were mentors when he was growing up in Santa Barbara, California. In the 1970's Ed, influenced by books about contemporary stained glass artists, received a fine arts grant from the Graham Foundation and went to Germany to study with a German stained glass artist for several months; upon his return, Ed became a professional designer of stained glass.

An early major installation was the 1980 stained glass for the Portland Justice Center in Portland, Oregon.  Using a team of engineers, glass and metal fabricators, installers and lighting designers Carpenter received more public art commissions that wanted to use reflected light.  He has work at major airports, federal buildings, city halls, libraries, colleges and universities, a roundabout in Belfast, Ireland, and some pedestrian bridges over roadways.  Some of the installations involved the cold bending of tempered glass.  (see also Guy Kemper and Martin Dolan)
http://www.edcarpenter.net/portfolio/0301.html 

In 2013 a hanging sculpture designed by Carpenter was installed in the Ann Arbor,.MI Justice Center.
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2013/10/portland_artist_to_talk_about.html