Kevin Vanek

• Foundry Director

Kevin Vanek comes to UNC Greensboro from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) where he was the Studio Technician and an adjunct faculty member in 3D Design, Sculpture, and Foundry.  Prior to teaching at USM, Vanek was a Master Fabrication Specialist for Bennett Forgeworks in Ridgeway, Colorado and a Visiting Artist at Colorado Mesa University.

Vanek describes himself as a dedicated Foundryman who crafts one-of-a-kind reliquaries using metal as an intuitive attempt to create physical objects that represent mental health and other societal issues.  He has exhibited throughout the South and the East Coast at galleries including Artfields 2019 in Lake City, SC; Art on the Atlanta Beltline in GA; Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH; the National Ornamental Metals Museum in Memphis, TN; and Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL.  He has also had solo shows at several American university galleries.

From 2017 to 2019, Vanek co-chaired Demonstrations as a member of the Steering Committee for the National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art and Practices.  In 2018 he was a Hot Metal Artist in Residence at Franconia Sculpture Park, and he is a 2020 recipient of a Visual Artist Fellowship from the Mississippi Artist Commission.

Kevin Vanek holds an MFA in Sculpture from East Carolina University and a BFA in 3-D Studio Art: Sculpture and Glass from Bowling Green State University.