CV
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Education
1978 BFA, Tufts University, Medford, MA
Selected Commissions
2016 Tree of Life, Norton Hospital, Louisville KY
2015 Cast Bronze Pelicans, Advocates for Women's Health: Norton Medical Plaza III, Louisville KY
2015 Iron Cross & Signage at Church Entrance, Forest Hill Community of Christ, Louisville KY
2014 Ner Tamid: Eternal Flame for Jewish Hospital Chapel, Catholic Health Initiatives, Louisville KY
2014 Recreate Historic Handrail, Brown Theater, 315 W Broadway, Louisville KY
2013 Reaching For Balance, Owensboro Hospital Fountain Centerpiece, Owensboro, KY
2013 Baptismal Font for St. Michael’s Church, Louisville KY
2011 Memorial Bench, St. Francis High School, Louisville, KY
2010 Forged Iron Mayor's Award, Louisville, KY
2010-2011 Repousse Medical Awards, Louisville, KY
2008-2010 Walden Theater’s Unicorn Awards, Louisville, KY
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Selected Awards
2013 Martha Ryan Merit Award, 44th Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum
2013 Thelma Karges Merit Award, 44th Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum
2005 Honors Award, American Society of Landscape Architects
2003 Merit Award, Kentucky Society of Landscape Architects, Labrot & Graham Distillery
2000 Artisan-Craft Award, Atlanta Merchandise Mart
2000 Finalist Niche awards Metal Decorative
1999 Honor Award, Boston Society of Landscape Architects
1998 Artistic Award Winner, Corn Gates, American Galvanizers Assoc.
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Selected Press & Publications
2012 Featured on Bluegrass and Backroads, KET
2009 Louisville Life, KET
2007 Hot Stuff in Louisville, Nov, Southern Living
2007 Artists in Their Studios, Nov, Louisville Magazine
2007 Fiery Hot to Classically Cool: Kaviar Forge & Gallery, SEP, Kentucky Homes & Gardens
2007 The Mystical Gate, Spring, Angelo
2005 Cover and feature article, Arts Across Kentucky, Summer Issue
2004 "Softening the Look with Iron", Today’s Woman
2002 Featured on “Modern Masters,” episode 702
2001 “Architectural Ironwork” Meilach
2000 “The Contemporary Blacksmith”&”Decorative & Sculptural Ironwork” Meilach
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Selected Exhibitions
2016 Have a Seat: Chairs by Kentucky Artisans, Kentucky Artisan Center, Berea KY
2016 UnMasked, Louisville Visual Art, Louisville KY
2015 44th Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
2015 Mazin Art Exhibition, Patio Gallery, Jewish Community Center, Louisville KY
2015 Sculpture in the Dell, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, KY
2013 43rd Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
2011 “Beaten to Submission; The Art of Repousse” Kaviar Forge & Gallery, Louisville KY
2011 Moving Forward, Circling Back: Celebrating 50 Years of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen Exhibit, KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY
2009 Powering Creativity: Air, Fuel, Heat, Carnegie Center New Albany, IN
2009 Holidazzle, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2009 Holidaze, Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Owensboro, KY
2008 Sculpture in the Dell, Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, KY
2005 Origin of Man exhibit at the US Pavilion, World’s Fair, Aichi, Japan
2005 Forging Ahead: Contemporary American Blacksmiths, KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY
2002 “Forged Fountains and Sculpture” solo show, Galerie Hertz, Louisville, KY
2001- 2004 “Enhancements” Handcrafted functional objects, Chess table in traveling exhibit
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RELATED EXPERIENCE
2015 - Present Board of Directors, ABANA: Artist- Blacksmith's Association of North America
2012 – 2015 Board of Directors, LOOK: Louisville Art, Louisville, KY
2012 - 2015 Treasurer, LOOK: Louisville Art, Louisville KY
2003 - 2009 Board of Directors, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
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Craig Kaviar
Born in Levittown, NY
Lives & works in Louisville, KY
Sculptor/Blacksmith Craig Kaviar has been producing forged iron and bronze sculpture, architectural elements, and furniture in Louisville, KY since 1985. Kaviar is an alumnus of Tufts University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and has studied at the Boston Museum School. Kaviar has been passionately making metalwork for over 30 years in the inferno of Kaviar Forge.
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"My work combines ancient forging techniques reminiscent of the early Hebrew/Bronze Age and a modern aesthetic to create contemporary Judaica. I repurposed a Chambersburg Air Hammer originally built for a World War II battleship and a 200-ton press purchased from the Charlestown Ammunition Plant. I feel that by reusing war machinery for art-making, I am in a small way helping to turn swords into plowshares. Throughout my career I have refined my style, combining sleek lines with rough texture inspired by nature. Ultimately, I seek to honor the long line of blacksmiths who came before me."
- Craig Kaviar
He not only works with glowing hot temperatures to shape unyielding materials he also shares this mystical experience by teaching others. While he is influenced by contemporary sculpting giants Diego Giacometti and Alexander Calder, his process derives from ancient metalworking methods. His work is a combination of elegant lines and hand-wrought texture that turns each creation into a work of art. Kaviar now ranks as one of the Commonwealth’s most prominent artists. His work was featured on the Home and Garden TV network show, “Modern Masters” and has appeared in a number of books illustrating the art of ironwork. His work has been on display at the Worlds Fair in Japan, located in the United States Pavilion.
In 2000, the Sister Cities program sent Kaviar on a cultural exchange to Mainz, Germany to help celebrate Johann Gutenberg’s 600th anniversary. In commemoration, he created a three-dimensional Gothic “G” with Gutenberg’s portrait carved into in. He also made a limited number of coins for the occasion.
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His work adorns many of the most prominent public and private spaces in Louisville, including the First Unitarian Church, The Jewish Community Center, The Temple, Bellarmine University, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft and the Kentucky Center. He has recently sculpted a series of grills and gates for the courtyard garden of the newly restored Christ Church Cathedral. Brown-Forman has long been a patron, commissioning some of Kaviar’s most important work, including the entrance gates to the Labrot & Graham Distillery; “Oak Tree Melody,” the sculptural entrance to a walking tunnel; and “Corinthian Column,” a sculpture in the company’s garden. His work has now moved from the homes, gardens and public spaces of Louisville to its galleries, where exhibitions of Kaviar’s work have been mounted at Swanson-Cralle Gallery, Images Friedman Gallery, the Bernheim Arboretum, the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, and Galerie Hertz.
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He also owns Kaviar Gallery, located on the same premises as the forge, in the Clifton neighborhood where the public can see examples of his own work as well as fine paintings, ceramics, jewelry, judaica, and other works by over 100 professional artists. Over 30 of the artists represented are local to Kentuckiana. With rotating exhibitions exemplifying various media and newly forged architectural installments, Kaviar continuously changes the space in a myriad of ways.
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