L Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith August 15, 2010

The Illinois State Museum will present a retrospective exhibition of a southern Illinois artist whose artistic footprint on the world of metalsmithing and blacksmithing is profound: L. Brent Kington. He is primarily responsible for forging the resurgence of blacksmithing as a contemporary art form and, in the process, nurturing new generations of blacksmithing artists. The retrospective spans over forty-five years and features objects borrowed from private and museum collections. The exhibition revisits pieces of forged iron and steel that represent the transition to blacksmithing, forged iron and steel kinetic weathervanes, pieces from the Icarus series and his newer contemporary abstract sculpture.