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"...he twists and molds and blends and cajoles wood into expressing his artistic will...."

The Philadelphia Daily News, Posted on Philly.com on Monday, May 6, 2002

Dietel has a Way With Wood

By John F. Morrison

FRITZ DIETEL is a veritable magician with wood.

How he twists and molds and blends and cajoles wood into expressing his artistic will has amazed art lovers throughout the area.

One critic said his work "deals with the ambivalent relationship between the sensual and the technological."

Along with the "upbeat, clean pragmatism of his approach, he manages to produce a visceral reaction."

If you're into visceral reactions and a little clean pragmatism, check out Dietel's work at the Philadelphia International Airport.

The exhibit of his sculpture is now being viewed by harried travelers coping with crowds, security and delays in Terminal C.

The show is part of the airport's ongoing exhibition program that has featured the work of many area and national artists.

Of Dietel's abstract forms, another local critic said, "The viewer can't help but marvel at the way he coaxes wood into improbable configurations by bending, laminating and steaming."

In the airport show, his large-scale sculptures are described as "singular, simplified forms evocative of nature's symmetry and sinuous growth."

"It is the fluidity and simplicity of the finished form that ultimately defines his work."

Dietel has shown his work in galleries and museums throughout the region, including the Fleisher Art Memorial, University of the Arts, both in Philadelphia, as well as the Main Line Art Center in Haverford, Moravian College in Bethlehem, and the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington.

The airport exhibits have attracted widespread attention. How about this reaction from a traveler from Sydney, Australia, about a recent exhibit? "The art detracts from the hustle and bustle of the airport and is a welcome relief from the commercial visual images that abound everywhere."

Philly.com/DailyNews