Gary Schott

Gary Schott received his B.F.A. in Art Metals at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 2004. While finishing his undergraduate degree, he dedicated two summers as an apprentice goldsmith at Gold and Silver Creations in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. In 2007 Mr. Schott earned his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in Metal-Jewelry Design. Participating in numerous juried exhibitions each year, Gary has earned a everal honors including a Judge’s Award at the 2005 Itami International Craft Exhibition in Japan and an Educational Endowment Scholarship from the Society of North American
Goldsmiths in 2006.

"My works rebel against modern ergonomic design, implementing hard edges and large, clumsy sizes. The use of crank-handles to operate my machine-based works is rather inefficient compared to the standards of modern devices and gadgets. As a result, the suggested, clumsy, yet intimate interaction between viewer and object performs an awkward balance of mechanical, kinetic motion that fails to produce an action of real use and, instead, provides an action of absurdity or playfulness. In this failure of expected function the devices provide an experience meant to provoke viewers or users to question the quality of their physical interaction with other objects."