Sharif Bey in Craft Across Continents | Contemporary Japanese and Western Objects: The Lassiter/Ferraro Collection

Craft Across Continents features more than 50 objects from the private collection of Lorne Lassiter and Gary Ferraro. Lassiter and Ferraro say they collect for the fun of it — visiting artists’ studios, art fairs, galleries and museums here and abroad — but they are serious-minded collectors with a deep knowledge of contemporary craft. The exhibition will be presented in a domestic-like setting to underscore the theme of enjoying life through living with art. The exhibition will include glass, ceramics, bamboo, and textile contemporary objects by artists from around the globe, including masterworks of glass sculpture from the Czech Republic, a seminal installation by Danish maker Tobias Møhl, and a mobile by Polish-trained artist Anna Skibska, and spectacular large glazed ceramic vessel by British maker Gareth Mason. Twenty-first century Japanese bamboo works by leading practitioners and innovative wood-fired ceramics also are highlights of the collection.

Lorne Lassiter and Gary Ferraro were founding members of the Founders’ Circle, an affiliate of The Mint Museum, and Lassiter was the executive director. She also served as vice president of the American Craft Council. Ferraro is a retired professor of cultural anthropology at UNC Charlotte and is the author of two leading university textbooks (1) Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective (Editions 1-11, 1992-2018) and (2) The Cultural Dimension of Global Business (Editions 1-9, 1990-2024).