Rick Beck

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Rick Beck is a studio artist based in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. He began working in glass at Hastings College in Nebraska, where he received his Bachelor's Degree. He received an Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University. In 1994, Rick was awarded a visual arts fellowship by the North Carolina Arts Council, followed by a National Endowment for the Arts Regional Visual Arts fellowship from the Southern Arts Federation in 1995. Beck is part of the studio glass movement. He has taught at the prestigious Pilchuck glass school, assisting artists Curtiss Brock and Jan Mares. He has also taught at the Penland School of Craft since 1988. Rick Beck is known for his large-scale cast glass sculpture depicting industrial, everyday objects and the human figure.

His work is in the collections of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design (NC), the Wustum Museum of Fine Art (WI), the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (LA), the Asheville Art Museum (NC) and the Columbia Museum of Art (SC). Rick currently works from his studio in Western North Carolina.

Statement:
By using a fragile material to represent items usually regarded as sturdy and nearly indestructible, glass artist Rick Beck creates an interesting balance and contradiction in his work. Whether depicting figures or everyday objects, Beck creates a fascinating distortion to our sense of scale and form.

“I am interested in playing volumes of mass against details by extracting and exaggerating the things I find interesting. Ultimately the work should challenge the eye and the mind.”
— Rick Beck

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