University of Wisconsin Oshkosh art professor Andrew Redington does much more than an average educator.
As a professional artist who specializes in three-dimensional work, Redington is the former director for the Allen Priebe Gallery, located in the Arts and Communications Center on the UW Oshkosh campus. He has been teaching at UW Oshkosh since 1995, where his duties include instructing a variety of two-dimensional, three-dimensional and art appreciation classes.
As a nationally exhibiting artist, his work has been selected for exhibitions ranging from the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Penn., to the Union Street Gallery in Chicago, Ill.
He has committed to several projects, which include a recent monumental public sculpture called Cornerstone Emergence for an exhibit called A Language of Old, for Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts at the corner of Marr and Sheboygan streets in Fond du Lac. This exhibit is open for viewing in the Contemporary Wing of the Thelma Sadoff Center until Oct. 31.
Redington is also working on a few pieces for the Topeka 32 National exhibition in the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery in Topeka, Kansas. The titles of his artwork are Nest and 50 cc of the Detritus of Changing Styles.
He is one of five finalists for the Circle Drive Sculpture Contest at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield. His piece is called Transition Space.
Redington said public art practice and studio art practice are very distinct. There are factors to consider when implementing either form.
“When you’re doing a call for public art, you need to consider the parameters that are set by the institutions that are looking for the public art,” Redington said. “Not to say you’re less free to express yourself, but you do have to solve those problems. Public art, for one, has to be safe. There’s always the concern from the person that is funding (the art) how the art is going to be maintained in the future and that it’s made of materials of longevity.”
He said studio art practice has a different set of parameters, but art in general is branching out in all directions.
“Some people try to sell their work through a gallery setting, others get jobs in academia, others make a living doing public art, but I think gallery sales is probably the best financially,” Redington said. “I do public art because I like to get my name out there since it gets the most traffic. But, usually larger projects bring in more revenue, because they have a budget that is larger. They are financially more secure — versus when making something in the studio, you have no idea if it will ever sell. It’s a chance that you take.”
Though Redington preoccupies his time through numerous outside projects, the courses he instructs are notable.
Redington said he enjoys all his classes, but he gravitates to functional design because it allows him the freedom to work with a variety of art materials and he has taught the course for more than 20 years at UWO.
Redington said he appreciates working with beginner and advanced students. He said it’s rewarding to see student’s “ah-hah” moments.
“In my opinion, art isn’t art until it has a viewer,” Redington said. “So I encourage everybody to go out, find and enjoy different forms of art. It’s part of the human experience.”
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