‘Captured Shifts from Ordinary to Extraordinary’

Bethlehem’s Gateway Sculpture unveiling Oct. 27

BETHLEHEM, Pa.— Internationally renowned award-winning sculptor Coral Penelope Lambert is no stranger to the steel industry. The former steel sculptor has participated in iron pours worldwide, including Bethlehem’s Steel Weekend.

Lambert returns to the Lehigh Valley Thursday, Oct. 27 for the unveiling of her latest sculpture, The Cloud, at Third Street and Founder’s Way in Bethlehem at 4 p.m., after which she’ll lead an artist talk at ArtsQuest in the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at 5 p.m.

“Public Art is a way for people to engage with their community through visual representations of history and culture,” said Lisa Harms, ArtsQuest Senior Director of Visual Arts and Education. “Sculptures such as The Cloud create new ways for us to interact with the landscape of our city and understand our past. We are honored to be working with Coral Lambert, who is an esteemed artist with a deep connection to the steel industry.”

Made possible via a grant from Northampton County, Lambert’s sculpture will be accessioned into the city’s public art collection. The Gateway Sculpture project is a partnership between the City of Bethlehem and ArtsQuest.

Lambert is a British American recognized for producing process based site-specific work and large-scale sculpture that combines her background as a formal steel sculptor with her passion for iron casting. She achieved a B.F.A at Canterbury School of Art in 1989 and M.F.A at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1990. She received an International Research Fellowship at the University of Minnesota from 1994-97. She has shown internationally in 13 solo and 150+ group exhibitions. She is the Founding Director of USUK Iron Symposium 1997-2012. She Co-Founded New Orleans Sculpture Lab 2000-2005 and co-chaired the fifth International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art in 2006 at the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge + Coalbrookdale, UK. In 2000 she was recognized as a cultural asset by the U.S. government and granted the O1 Visa as an Artist of Extraordinary Ability. She has received 23 awards including a Gottlieb Foundation Grant, Jerome Fellowship and Joan Mitchell Foundation support. Lambert is Professor of Sculpture and Director of the National Casting Center Foundry at Alfred

University, New York. Most recently she has won the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Educator Award for 2022.

Bethlehem’s Mayor J. William Reynolds noted that, “Projects such as this contribute considerably to Bethlehem’s reputation as an arts and culture community. Without partners such as Northampton County, ArtsQuest and the Fine Art Commission, projects like this would not be possible.”