About the Artist
Meet George
I create paintings on sculptural wood forms. My art is available through my home and studio in Asheville, NC a serene natural setting with flower and herb gardens, rock walls, and a bold stream. Most of my work is designed as site specific, whether it is for a home, commercial area, or public art installation.
It is important for me to meet and get to know each of my clients, their personalities and predilections, needs and desires. This allows me to intuit each unique sculptural design and color pallet.
When a piece is completed and installed, I enjoy remaining in touch with the family, and often I have the pleasure of participating in gatherings at their homes and offices. It’s a family thing, and that’s the best part.
My artwork is included in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Renwick Gallery, RJ Reynolds, and many other collections. Over the years, galleries from the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, to several prestigious galleries from SoHo to Fifth Avenue, have offered my work.
Visit my website galleries: Circuitous • Relief • Public Art • Porcelain • Paintings • Photography
For information about my art, a commission, or to make an appointment to visit my studio, feel free to contact me.
Meet George
I’m a painter and sculptor based in Asheville, NC. I work with a variety of materials, including ceramic, wood, glass, and mixed media. My relief wall sculptures are ideal for residential or corporate spaces and offer colorful art with narrative painting and/or abstract design.
You can see my work in two Asheville galleries:
* My studio in Woodfin just North of the River Arts District
* My home in North Asheville, which features a Monet-Giverny-like setting, including herb and flower gardens, rock walls, ruins, rock staircases, and a bold stream running through the center. There you can see my work in its natural setting.
Both of these locations have been long standing Asheville tourist attractions for 38 years.
In The Studio
Artist Bio
Public & Private Collections
- Smithsonian Institution, Renwick Gallery, Permanent Collection, Washington, DC
- Private Collections of Alan Alda, Neil Simon, artist Frank Stella
- R.J. Reynolds Corporation, Winston-Salem, NC
- University of North Carolina Justice Center, Permanent Collection, Asheville, NC
- Bascome Art Center, Permanent Collection, Highlands NC
Grants, Awards & Shows
- Show Blue Spiral 1 Gallery 2013
- Bascome Art Center Show of 18 pieces with artist Frank Stella
- Workshop taught 2011
- Bascome Art Center on studio technique
- CERF National Grant 2009
- National Federation of Poetry Society National First prize awards, $1500.
- Spartanburg Museum of Art Award, $1,000
- Bascome Art Center Highlands NC First Prize, $5,000 Permanent Collection
- Asheville Arts Council Regional Award. Funds used to develop larger scale public art and coordinate studio mentorship/ apprenticeship program
- Best In Show, Carolina Designer Craftsmen
- Best In Ceramic, Piedmont Art Show, Atlanta, GA
- Best In 3-D, Ceramic Charlotte Art Festival, Charlotte, NC
- North Carolina Museum of Art – Award of Merit
Public Art
- Cone Health Medical Ct. Burlington NC 2014
- Emory University Atlanta Hospital 2013
- Western North Carolina Nature Center Outdoor kinetic/motorized 2010
- San Diego Medical Center 2008
- Western N. C. Nature Center Red Wolf Run 2008
- San Diego Medical Center 2007
- Mission Reuter’s Children’s Outpatient Clinic, Asheville, NC 2007
- Transylvania Public Library, Holographic Relief Sculpture 2006
- Duke Power Corporate Headquarters, 3 Commissions 2006
- City of Charlotte Arts & Science Council, Fire Department 2005
- City of Asheville, Petsmart and Kohl’s Corporations 2005
- Liberty Trust Corporation, Greenville, SC, Art 4 business 2005
- Charlotte Area Transit System, Cats: Two wall pieces, total size approximately 5’ height by 30’ length
- 40 holographic color shifts 2004
- North Carolina Zoological Park Commission, Asheboro, NC Lion’s Pride – Mixed media exterior relief sculpture (6’x15’), outdoor 2002
- Charlotte/Mecklenburg Public Art Commission Disappearing Animals – (4’x 8’) Endangered animals disappear as the viewer walks along the installation Mecklenburg County 1999
- Charlotte/Mecklenburg Public Art Commission (4’x8’) Mecklenburg County Public Health Department, Charlotte, North Carolina Percentage for the Arts Program 1998
- North Carolina Arts Council Art In Public Buildings Holographic Mural (8’x15’) University of North Carolina Asheville1997
Education & Teaching
- Adjunct Professor of Art, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC 2001
- Bascome Art Center Lecture and workshop on Frank Stella and my process
- University of New Hampshire, Plymouth University
- University of North Carolina masters art degree courses begun
- University of Tennessee, lecture series 2005
- University of North Carolina annual lecture series
- Asheville High School lecture series on my sculpture in public art
- Mentorship program with area colleges and high schools Grant from Western North Carolina Arts Council
- Art in Public Schools series touring schools affiliation Asheville Art Museum 1993
Community Workshops conducted with Public Art Projects
- Asheville Arts Council and Asheville Art Museum, Asheville NC – Art in Public Schools
- Artist Lecture/Demonstration Series – Yancey and McDowell Counties, NC
- University of North Carolina Art Department, Asheville, NC – “Art for Public Places,” yearly lectures and studio visits
- Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC – “Life’s Work as an Artist” (lecture series)
- Asheville High School yearly workshop 1986 – present
- Accredited apprenticeship program with area schools
- Teaching Position Plymouth High School Plymouth, NH
- Teaching Position Oceanport, Monmouth County, NJ
Panels /Jurist
- North Carolina Arts Council, Raleigh, NC Jurist, Artist in Schools Program and Grant
- Southern Highlands Guild – Jurist of Applicants 1999, 2000, 2003
- Asheville Arts Alliance – Jurist, Emerging Artist Program 1992,1993
Professional Affiliations
- Southern Highlands Craft Guild
- American Crafts Council
- Neiman-Marcus, White Plains, NY
- Asheville Chamber of Commerce
- Del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Craft & Folk Museum, Los Angeles, CA
- Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, NC
- Carolina Designer Craftsmen, Raleigh, NC
Selected Exhibits
- Bascome Art Center 2011 scheduled in conjunction with Frank Stella show
- Gallery C Raleigh NC 2011
- Somerhill Gallery Durham NC 2010
- Blue Spiral 1 Gallery Show September – January 2009
- North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC – NC Crafts Exhibit
- Smithsonian Institution Museum from the collection 1999
- Spartanburg Museum of Art (2nd prize award)
- Northern Telecom, Research Triangle Park, NC – Sculpture Exhibition
- William King Regional Art Center, Abingdon Virginia 2006
- Spartanburg Museum of Art – 2nd prize curator 2005
- Blue Spiral 1 Gallery 2005
- North Carolina Craft Center, Asheboro, NC– “Ceramics” 2001, 2003
- Asheville Art Museum – Western North Carolina Millennium 2001
- Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC– Faulty Show 2001
- Southworks, Watkinsville, GA– 2001 Juried Exhibition 2001
- Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC– “Endings & Beginnings” 2001 Curator: Mathew Drutt of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Bascome Art Center Highlands NC
- Blue Spiral I Gallery, Asheville, NC 1997, 1996, 1994
- Arts Alliance Gallery, Asheville, NC 1996, `1995
- Piedia Invitational Craft Show, Atlanta, GA 1994
- Blue Spiral I, Asheville, NC– “Crafts Today” 1993
- Greenhill Art Center, Greensboro, NC – Invitational Exhibit 1989, 1988
- Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, NC – “The Eighties Show” 1987
- H. Daisheimer Gallery, Baltimore, MD 1985
- Perception Gallery, Houston, TX
- Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, NC – “Crafts for a Post-Modern World” 1985
- New Morning Gallery, Asheville, NC – Solo Exhibition 1985
- Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Selected Bibliography
- “The Indomitable Spirit of the Artist” Laurel of Asheville, November 2008
- “Mountain Traditions” Times News, New York Times Feature Article June 2007
- The Secret the movie– images and clips from my studio process used in filming, 2006
- Batman Forever, the movie – artwork used in set design, Warner Bros. Studios
- 500 Pitchers, Lark Books – images, Sterling Publishing 2006
- 500 Cups, Lark Books – images and cover note, Sterling Publishing, 2006
- George Handy: Work of the Artist, video, Abbey Road Productions for UNC-TV, 2001
- Asheville: A View from the Top, Roland Beers & James Turner Publishers, 1997
- Hand Built Ceramics, Sterling Publishing, Altamont Press, 1996
- Handmade Tiles, Sterling Publishing, Altamont Press, 1994
- “Crafts in WNC – Hand-Made with Heart,” Blue Ridge Journal, September 1993
- Making and Decorating Fantastic Frames, Thom Boswell, Sterling Publishing, 1993
- “Local Art Goes to Broadway,” Asheville Citizen-Times, June 1992
- “The Arts of Craft,” Endless Vacation Magazine (USAir in-flight magazine), 1992
- “Tampering with Teapots,” Asheville Citizen-Times, May 1992
- “NC Artists for the 90’s,” Greensboro News & Record, January 1991
- The Arts Journal, Verne Stafford, Director of Penland School, June 1985
Copyright © 2024 George Handy | Website by Serendipity Digital Design | Privacy Policy