Zack Noble grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where his love of metal began. As a kid, he was fascinated by pieces of metal that he found on the street. Alongside his baseball cards, Zack had a small collection of scrap metal.
In his early work with the material he initially focused on jewelry making. While contemplating his next move, Zack was given a job at Battle Iron and Bronze in Long Island, where he was introduced to blacksmithing and fabricating of Iron work. Inspired by his mother, who was a gifted fiber artist and former Penland student, Zack studied at Penland School of Crafts during his vacation time. He then applied and was accepted to the Core Student Program there and, over the course of two years in the program, Zack was able to explore the many media that is taught at Penland, including what would become his true love and lifelong obsession, blacksmithing.
With the opportunity to learn from blacksmiths and metalworkers who were at the top of their field and represented some of the best artists working in the material, Zack was able to gain a wide range of skills and techniques. At the end of his time in Penland, eager to begin to really focus his work and hone his ability, he moved to England to work for Brian Russell and Chris Top’s Real Wrought Iron Company. Shortly after returning to the United States, and probably prematurely, he started his own company.
Zack has always made a wide range of work including sculptural and functional pieces, and architectural work. Through gallery representation and commission work, Zack has been able to consistently stretch himself throughout his career to new areas of interest and always new challenges. Even with the broad abilities he has developed, Zack has always been drawn to the forging process. Industrial and urban landscapes, skyscrapers and bridges have inspired and created an aesthetic that comes through in all of his work. No matter what Zack is working on, he is always pushing himself to learn more and refine his abilities while maintaining the love and playfulness that drew him to the material in the first place.
