Recent VCU Graduate Awarded Windgate Fellowship

By Tom Gresham

Kent Perdue who graduated from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in May, has become the first VCU student ever to win the Windgate Fellowship, a prestigious prize for graduating artists.

Perdue was one of 10 graduating undergraduate students to win the honor, which includes a $15,000 award. The Windgate Fellowship is presented by the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design and is the top award available to students in the field of craft and material studies. There were 89 applicants for the award this year.

“I have the utmost respect for Kent’s accomplishments to date and expect great successes for him in future,” said Sonya Clark, chair of the Department of Craft and Material Studies in VCUarts. “He is remarkably self-possessed. I remember him as a freshman. We met in an elevator. He asked if I was the chair of the Craft Department, introduced himself and convincingly expressed his commitment to making furniture. By the time we reached the fifth floor I knew I had met a special young man, one with direction, motivation and charisma.

“Fast forward a few years and Kent has proven to be one of our most talented students in the Department of Craft and Material Studies,” Clark said. “He has an infectiously positive attitude, a discerning eye and a relentless commitment to doing his best.”

Perdue, who received a B.F.A. in furniture at VCU, plans to use the Windgate Fellowship to travel to Japan to study and document traditional architecture, furniture and Asian art forms unfamiliar to his Western aesthetic. He will take workshops to hone his technical skills and visit museums related to wood art and artists that inspire him. He plans to build a studio and showcase a body of work developed from his fellowship experience.

Perdue also was named one of four resident artists for 2009-10 at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

For a gallery of Perdue’s work, visit http://tinyurl.com/mocp6p. A table by Perdue was chosen recently to be displayed at the Turchin Center in Boone, N.C.

Two past Windgate winners are current students in the Master’s of Fine Arts program of the Department of Craft and Material Studies. Aaron McIntosh won the award in 2006, the program’s first year, and Andrea Donnelly earned a fellowship in 2007. Both are entering their second year in the fiber program.