Gary Griffin

Gary Griffin is a practicing metalsmith, educator, curator, and writer. He received his BA from California State University, Long Beach and his MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA. Griffin taught as Associate Professor of Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), and was Head of the Metalsmithing Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art (MI) until his retirement.

Griffin is known for his utilitarian metalwork, especially for commissioned gates and fences that mirror their surroundings. Griffin is an American Craft Council Fellow and was awarded the Master Metalsmith Award from the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. He exhibits his work widely and his writing has been included in numerous publications including American Craft and Metalsmith magazine. Griffin has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. His work has been acquired by the Houston Museum of Fine Arts (TX), The Detroit Zoo (MI), University of Detroit (MI), and by numerous private and public collectors. In 2004 Griffin was interviewed for the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.

During Griffin’s residency he used his extensive knowledge and intimate understanding of metal as a starting point to explore variation in the sand-casting process.