Exhibit extended at Bradenburg Gallery in Luverne through Aug. 29
In the space of his 40 year career, self-taught woodcarver FRED COGELOW has gained an impressive international following. In 2010 American Woodworker magazine profiled him as one of the country’s “Great woodworkers” and “Woodcarving Illustrated” named him 2013 “Woodcarver of the Year.” His many honors include 17 Best of Show Awards at the International Woodcarvers Congress in Davenport, IA.
The majority of his carvings are in butternut, with basswood employed as a distant second choice and black walnut an even more distant third. Butternut has long been his preference because of its warmth, availability, relative ease of use, and stability. Over 99% of the wood used in the course of his career is timber that he harvested and dried himself.
Fred exhibits a fondness, reverence, and penchant for woodworking tools, especially traditional hand tools. At the center of the “operating theatre” in his studio is a stalwart carving easel, created from the cast iron base of an old mortician’s workbench. (A tool collector friend sold it to him for $25 in the late ’70’s saying, “You should really be the one to have this,” — a most considerate gesture!) The carving bench is surrounded by tool cabinets containing hundreds of gouges, skews and other edge tools, all within easy reach.
Show times: M-F: 8am-5pm; Sat: 10am-5pm
Brandenburg Gallery, 213 East Luverne Street, Luverne, MN
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