AACG Creates Baltimore Glass Exhibit for IYOG!

Artworks by : Dr Joyce Scott, Tim Tate, Michael Janis, Soledad Salamé & more!

2022 is the International Year of Glass (IYOG) AND the 60th Anniversary of American Studio Glass Movement. As part of the events celebrating glass, Howard Cohen of Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass has organized a spectacular exhibit of glass artwork during the Glass & Optical Materials Division (GOMD) conference in Baltimore at Coppin State University. This will be the first glass exhibit in Baltimore since 1996! The goals of the show are to showcase ways glass has matured into a sculptural medium, bring a diverse group of renown artists from the Baltimore/Washington region to the arts communities, and students in the area, and amplify artists voices including members of the BIPOC, Hispanic, LGBQT and immigrant communities. The exhibit will feature artwork by Dr Joyce Scott, Tim Tate, Soledad Salamé, Erwin Timmers, and Michael Janis. The exhibition is made possible through the support of the GOMD, the American Ceramic Society, Corning & Owens Corning for funding some of the exhibition costs and to fund the Baltimore scientific outreach to Baltimore City High schools.

The exhibit is scheduled to run from Mid-May through June 2022.

Washington (State) Museum of Glass Showcases Washington (DC) Glass School Directors

Sculptures by each of the Washington Glass School Directors – Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers and Michael Janis- were acquired for the permanent collection of the Tacoma Museum of Glass (MOG).

Michael Janis, “Healing Words” 2009, kilnformed glass, glass powder imagery, 37″ x 19″ x 2″, Collection Museum of Glass.

A long-time Museum of Glass Trustee, Potomac, MD-based glass-art collector Robert Minkoff selected MOG to house his art collection before passing away in September 2020. Developed through decades of patronage and philanthropy, the collection celebrates the incredible diversity of glass art and its possibilities in the field of contemporary art.  With the addition of Robert Minkoff’s personal collection, the Museum’s glass holdings are now the largest in the Western United States.

The artworks by the Washington Glass School artists will be part of a yearlong exhibit Boundless Curiosity: A Journey with Robert Minkoff, opening April 2, 2022.

Organized by Museum of Glass and curated by Katie Buckingham, ‘Boundless Curiosity’ follows Minkoff’s love of glass and tells vibrant stories of glass’s evolution from a studio craft material. “The Minkoff Collection is a transformational gift to the Museum” said curator Katie Buckingham. “We are excited about the opportunity to widen the story of glass art and show compelling narrative sculptural work”.

MOG’s contemporary glass collection concentrates on how medium of glass interacts with modern day art. Citing “glass secessionism” (as defined by Tim Tate and William Warmus in their “21st Century Glass Conversations and Images” online group) there is a movement in glass art away from “technique” towards “artistic vision” and concept. Said Curator Buckingham “we all look forward to including the artworks by the Washington Glass School directors – the 3 Musketeers of Glass.”

Washington Glass School artists Erwin Timmers, Tim Tate and Michael Janis (aka aka- Athos, Porthos and Aramis)

Works by noted glass artists Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, Debora Moore, Therman Statom, Amber Cowan, Susan Taylor Glasgow, Shane Ferro, Paul Stankard, and Laura Donefer round out the exhibit in the main gallery of the Museum. The Minkoff collection exhibition will kick off the Glass Art Society (GAS) 2022 international conference held in Tacoma, WA this May.

About Museum of Glass

Located in Tacoma, Washington, Museum of Glass is a premier contemporary art museum dedicated to glass and glassmaking in the West Coast’s largest and most active museum glass studio. Opened in 2002, the Museum has established a reputation for hosting impactful and engaging artist residencies, organizing nationally traveling exhibitions, and creating unique programs for visitors while building a growing permanent collection chronicling the development of modern and contemporary glass. 

Museum of Glass provides an environment for artists and the public to ignite creativity, fuel discovery, and enrich their lives through glass and glassmaking. MOG’s glass holdings are now the largest in the Western United States.

BOUNDLESS CURIOSITY: A JOURNEY WITH ROBERT MINKOFF

Opening April 2, 2022 thru 2023

Museum of Glass, 1801 Dock Street, Tacoma, WA 98402

www.museumofglass.org

“Hand Crafted” Exhibit a BlackRock Center for the Arts

Germantown, VA’s BlackRock Center for the Arts, presents HAND CRAFTED, a group exhibition that explores the role of craftsmanship in contemporary art and across a variety of media including wool, ceramic, glass, paper, fiber, porcelain, etc. This group exhibition features over 55 multimedia works by 23 artists from the Mid-Atlantic United States region.

Says Gallery Director and Curator Rula Jones, “Concept and craftsmanship, the latter defined as strong knowledge of material manipulation, have occasionally been oppositional in modern and contemporary art. However, these works show high levels of artistry and skill, while also presenting very strong purpose and theory. Artists in this exhibition use materials often associated with craft and elevate them through contemporary concerns. The works on view address a variety of both universal and contemporary issues including loss, identity, the environment, humanity and nature through a variety of media including ceramic, glass, fiber, wool, silk, beads, paper, porcelain etc. This exhibition celebrates the diversity of theory, process and materiality in contemporary art, suggesting that the boundary between craft and fine art remains as elusive as ever.”

Artists included in the exhibition are: Lisa Battle, Helen Blumen, Karin Birch, Mei Mei Chang, Ceci Cole McInturff, Linda Colsh, Barbara Joann Combs, Andrea Finch, Felisa Federman, Sarah J. Hull, Noelani Jones, Shana Kohnstamm, Rebecca Murtaugh, Phyllis Mayes, Mitchell Noah, Sara Parent-Ramos, Sookkyung Park, Margaret Polcawich, Paulette Privott, Allan Rosenbaum, Kanika Sircar, Erwin Timmers, and Patricia de Poel Wilberg.

Hand Crafted will be on view from March 5 – April 15, 2022. An opening reception will be held on March 19th from 5 pm to 7 pm. A virtual catalog is available to the public in the link.

About BlackRock Center for the Arts
Located in Germantown, MD, BlackRock Center for the Arts brings inspiring performing and visual arts experiences to diverse audiences in a welcoming and intimate setting, providing opportunities to explore, celebrate and engage in the arts. For more information, visit www.blackrockcenter.org, email Rula Jones, Gallery Director at rjones@blackrockcenter.org, or call 301-528-2260.

AACG Fired Up! with Joyce Scott

Joyce Scott; Head Shot, 2008, Seed beads, thread, glass, bullets, 18 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 4 1/2 in
Dr Joyce Scott

Join the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass on Tuesday, March 15, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, when MacArthur Fellow Dr. Joyce J. Scott examines the extremes of human nature by conflating humor and horror, history and fantasy, as well as beauty and brutality to create artworks that not only mine the fabric of our complex collective history, but that reveal universal truths.

Joyce Scott, War Baby, 2014, Hand-blown Murano glass, beads, thread, photographs

Best known for her use of the off-loom, free-form, glass bead weaving technique referred to as the peyote stitch, Scott merges beads, blown glass, and found objects with autobiographical, sociological, and political content to unapologetically confront themes of racism, sexism, violence, inequality, history, and oppression while simultaneously embracing splendor, spirituality, nature, and healing. For this episode of Fired Up!, expect the unexpected! Sometimes, her boundless energy and creativity will spill forth in delightful and playful ways, mocking cultural stereotypes.

Free – Open to the public. Click below link to register for AACG talk:

AACG Fired Up! Meeting Registration – Zoom