Gerhardt Knodel

Gerhardt Gunther Knodel (born 1940), is an American contemporary textile artist, academic administrator, and educator. He was the head of the fiber arts department at Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1970 to 1997, and also served as the school director from 1997 to 2007. In 2016, he was named a fellow of the American Craft Council (ACC).

Early life and education Knodel was born in 1940, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, born into family of German heritage. His family moved when he was a child and he was raised in Los Angeles, California. While attending LACC, Knodel studied under Mary Jane Leland (1923–2022) in the Bauhaus school style. His series, Recovery Games (2005–2014) was artwork focused on gaming-based interactions paired with visual work as a method of understanding different strategies.

Knodel's work can be found in museum collections, including at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA).

Exhibitions

1984, Gerhardt Knodel, solo exhibition, Elements Gallery, 90 Hudson Street, New York City, New York, U.S. 1986, Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical, group exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now Museum of Arts and Design), New York City, New York, U.S. 1989, Fiber Explorations, New Work in Fiber Art, group exhibition, Staller Center for the Arts at the State University in Stony Brook (now Stony Brook University), Stony Brook, New York, U.S.