The event includes a pop-up exhibit of over 150 pieces at the Ringling College of Art + Design’s Studio Labs Sound Stage A. Explore four themed curated exhibitions, two solo exhibits, and visit the newly opened Sarasota Art Museum and the Basch Gallery on the Ringling College campus. Additional highlights include a Masterworks Auction, a demonstration by artist John Kiley, artist talks, a Ringling Museum mystery, Habatat-Zoom Live, the Imagine Museum’s Annual Fire and Light Gala.
Hope to see you at the first HUGE glass event of the year!
RSVP now for a Habatat-Zoom event taking place this Saturday, November 16th, at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Join Aaron Schey (aka Mr Glass) Owner and partner of Habatat Detroit Fine Art, for an engaging update on the WGS Director Michael Janis, an innovative member of the esteemed Habatat Family. Janis, who showcased his work at Habatat’s Scope Art Miami booth this year, will provide insights into the latest developments in his career and sculpture.
Ok. what the what is going on?
Notably involved in the arts community near Washington D.C., Janis has been actively creating public sculptures and exploring new artistic endeavors incorporating video technology.
Save the date for March 2024, as Janis will be showcased as a distinguished artist at the Lowe Art Museum in Miami. Additionally, experience his exceptional work during the Glass Coast Weekend in Sarasota, Florida, where he will be personally present to share his artistic journey. Your presence is highly anticipated!
This Friday, September 3rd, Michigan’s Habatat Galleries presents the opening of Glass Art Fair exhibition at 11:00 a.m. ET. This will be the VIP preview day for the online art fair as it opens to the public virtually the next day. This presentation includes many of available works that will be featured in the Habatat Galleries 50th in-person celebration.
Michael Janis’ kilncast glass is featured in Habatat Galleries 50th Anniversary exhibit.
Artists from around the world have been invited to this event and the gallery expects a large turnout since all have been apart for so long. During the pandemic Habatat has been pioneering the world of virtual glass art events including Glass49, GlassArtFair, the new annual Not Grandma’s Glass exhibition, and the highly apropos Viral Glass exhibition. Director Aaron Schey has created a treasure trove of digital presentations over the last year via Habatat Now programs which are viewable on YouTube.
Gallery founder Ferdinand Hampson shares his thoughts about Habatat’s Legacy: Founded in 1971, Habatat has promoted, legitimized, and elevated a new art material to a point of recognition by the art community. Fifty years later we evolved with glass. We continue our efforts towards the mainstream though we are no longer outsiders. Fine art collectors, museums, and noted art publications have in many cases recognized the medium and shared in the excitement of what this material can do and be, in the hands of creative artists worldwide.
Tim Tate and Michael Janis’ collaborative work – “The Poetry of Everyday Objects” is featured.
Michigan’s Habatat Galleries Hosts ZOOM award presentation Saturday, May 1st, 2021.
Saturday, May 1st, @ 1pm ET, Habatat Galleries will present a zoom presentation of works selected for “Viral Glass”. This on-line exhibition looks specifically at how glass artists around the world are responding to the Pandemic. While some have focused on the virus itself and the fear it instills, others have explored the depth and intensity of world-wide isolation. Other creative individuals have focused on how this disaster can bring communities together, or how it has torn us apart. In any case, artists in every field have contributed to keeping the world moving.
This show will mark the long anticipated return of David McFadden, who was Chief Curator of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC for 16 years, to our field as guest curator for this show.
RSVP for a Habatat-Zoom presentation this Saturday, May 1st at 1:00 p.m. ET. for a Zoom with the attending artists. Click HERE for more info and to RSVP. Habatat and David preview the works in the Viral Glass 2021 exhibition and speak with each artist about their work and inspiration.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto glass/mixed media exhibit has dominated Michigan’s press as the news agencies and tv shows all feature works by the artists and their story.
Detroit News loves the new glass/mixed media works by Michael Janis and Tony Porto!
Local Fox News – Fox 2 – sent reporters into the gallery to interview Director Aaron Schey and get the story on the Not Grandmas Glass (NGG) exhibit and competition as well as an eyeful of the artworks. Click here to jump to one of the three interviews by Fox.
Fox 2 Detroit interviews Habatat Galleries’ Aaron Schey to dish about NGG and works by Michael Janis and Tony Porto.
“Friendship is Magic” and “Say Your Prayers and Take Your Vitamins” glass/mixed media artworks by Michael Janis and Tony Porto are on exhibit at Royal Oak gallery.
Click Here to jump to article about the Janis/Porto exhibit in the Oakland Press.
WGS Co-Director Michael Janis has collaborated with Chicago-based artist Tony Porto on a new series of glass/mixed media sculptures – making their debut solo show debut in Habatat Galleries’ “Not Grandmas’ Glass” (NGG) exhibit/competition. NGG is new and groundbreaking competition, held over 12 months featuring 12 artists that the gallery feels are pushing the medium beyond the norm. The premise of the exhibit is to showcase works that are outside “traditional” studio art glass, where the artists were challenged to make works that would be in a contemporary museum.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto “Lunchtime With Darth Vader”; 2021, cast glass, mixed media, 24″ x 24″ x 9″
Habatat director Aaron Schey said of the NGG show concept: “These artists are extremely innovative and I propose that they will all be important in the future of the glass medium. Creating work that is probably not in Grandma’s art collection…..yet.”
Michael Janis and Tony Porto, “Friendship is Magic”; 2021, kilncast glass, mixed media, 22″ x 22″ x 9″
Paying homage to the underdogs of pop culture – the cartoons, action figures, and toys of childhood, Janis and Porto incorporate figures as diverse as Batman, Darth Vader, My Little Pony, Wonder Woman, Hulk Hogan in their evocative narratives that are at once whimsical and distressing, capturing their complexities and outlandishness.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto “Call For Bruce Wayne”; 2021, cast glass, mixed media, LED, electronics, wood, 20″ X 24″ X 10″
In the works, they walk a really fun line between taking this stuff seriously and also being able to laugh at it all.
Michael Janis and Tony Porto delivered a fantastic online artist talk – hosted by Michigan’s Habatat Galleries (click HERE to jump to YouTube link.)
Mike and Tony outlined their collaborative works, their meanings, and how they managed to work together during the pandemic.
CALL FOR ENTRY “VIRAL GLASS: Artists Responses to COVID-19”
The past year has been devastating for everyone around the world. While the medical and social impact of Covid-19 are undeniable, this pandemic has also deeply influenced the making of art in every area of creative initiative.
This on-line exhibition looks specifically at how glass artists around the world are responding to the Pandemic. While some have focused on the virus itself and the fear it instills, others have explored the depth and intensity of world-wide isolation. Other creative individuals have focused on how this disaster can bring communities together, or how it has torn us apart. In any case, artists in every field have contributed to keeping the world moving. What has your pandemic artwork centered on? Viral Glass, a new web-based virtual exhibition will focus on the incredible work of international glass artists showcasing their creativity and resourcefulness during the Coronavirus pandemic. This show will mark the long anticipated return of David McFadden, who was Chief Curator of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC for 16 years, to our field as guest curator for this show. In addition to being an international forum for artists to share their concerns and visions, cash prizes will also be offered.
Habatat Galleries in Royal Oak, MI will be managing the logistics for this project, scheduled to open on-line on May 1st, 2021. If you would like to be considered for inclusion in this show, please send up to 3 images, a CV, and a brief description of technique and what this piece means to you to ViralGlass2021@gmail.com. Deadline for images will be March 19th. All artists will be notified before April 15th.
Each artist will be invited to create their own virtual experience online that will be shared through the www.viralglass.org website.
