Ron Fondaw

Ron Fondaw began his career as a painter and produced his first one-person show in a gas station in his hometown when he was eleven years old. With his interest in art that is integral to our daily lives, he designed and built three houses, including his home and studio in the North Carolina mountains. His work is inspired by the leading edge of scientific research as it reveals more about our mind/body relationship and our place in the natural world.

Fondaw’s numerous distinctions include a Guggenheim award for sculpture, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and a Pollock-Krasner award. His works can be seen in several collections around the world, including the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Center for Contemporary Art, Vero Beach, Florida; Columbus Museum of Fine Art Ohio; Little Rock Arts Center, Arkansas; and the Museum of North American Ceramics, Ceramic Arts Village, Fuping, China.

Fondaw held teaching positions at the University of Miami, where he honed his sense of color and discovered that in tropical light there are no bad colors or color combinations. He also taught at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Fondaw received a BFA in ceramics from the Memphis College of Art and gained his MFA from the University of Illinois, Urbana.