Griffin received his Masters of Fine Arts degree from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1974 and was the Academy of Art Metalsmith-in-Residence, leading the Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Metalsmithing Department for 22 years. He has received numerous awards and fellowships including two National Endowment of Arts awards in 1976 and 1977. In 2005, he was elected to the American Craft Council College of Fellows for his contributions and achievements in the field of Metalsmithing.

This exhibition focused on work generated while Griffin was Resident Artist in the John Michael Kohler Art Center’s Art and Industry Program, January through April, 2007. The “Penumbra Series,” which includes 18 ductile cast iron frames, explores the moment where molten iron is arrested within a picture plane. This moment of eclipse relies upon chance dictated through material, process and strategic technical decision.

Of his work, Griffin states “Whatever intelligence these works may have is generated from sources as diverse as applied engineering, formal aesthetics, material culture study, technological awareness, and the political, social and cultural history of the applied and decorative arts. Over the years, I have sought to add arrows to my quiver and for that reason have sought equilibrium among ideas, concepts, materials and processes.