Master metalsmith David Secrest featured in new exhibit

The work of renowned artist, sculptor and blacksmith, David Secrest is part of a new exhibit at the Wanda Hollensteiner Art Gallery in Kalispell. 

The exhibit titled David Secrest: The Unprejudiced Silence of Things that Are, will be on display through May 23, with a free opening reception planned from 5 to 7 p.m. April 10.  

The title of the exhibit is a quote from the philosopher Henry Bugbee, according to a press release, which to Secrest, evokes the quiet immutability of the objects he ultimately creates. 

Celebrated nationally for his mastery of forged iron, fabricated steel and bronze, Secrest is also an accomplished draftsman, ceramicist and woodworker, having designed and built his home and art studio by hand in the woods above Flathead Lake in Somers. For more than four decades, he has “developed a distinct visual language rooted in natural form, material history and the intentional manipulation of metal,” the press release states. 

In 2017, Secrest was named “Master Metalsmith” by the Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the highest distinctions in the field. The honor is awarded to artists with more than 20 years of exceptional studio practice and is jury selected by a committee of leading metalworking professionals. To date, fewer than 40 artists have received the designation. 

Secrest’s sculptures and furniture are held in private and institutional collections across the country including the University of Montana, and have been shown at major national venues including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Intersect Chicago (formerly SOFA Chicago), the Armory in New York City, the National Ornamental Metal Museum, the Prichard Art Gallery at the University of Idaho and Art Market San Francisco. He has shown at the Paris Gibson Museum, the Holter Museum, the Missoula Art Museum and the Glacier Museum of Art. He has exhibited extensively with Gail Severn Gallery in Ketchum, Idaho.  

His work has been recognized with the Silvermine Guild of Artists Prize, the Rolex Prize for Excellence in Metal and a WESTAF/NEA regional fellowship for visual artists.  

The gallery, which is located at the Wachholz College Center in Kalispell, is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays. The gallery is also open to ticketholders attending other events and performances held at the college center.

 

    The work of Master Metalsmith David Secrest, who works out of his studio in Somers, is on display at the Wanda Hollensteiner Art Gallery in Kalispell. (Courtesy photo)