Double Translucency: Contemporary Glass Exhibitions at the Knoxville Museum of Art (unedited)
I had posted the edited/ published version of this article, sometime last week. Here is the unedited version:
Double Translucency: Contemporary Glass Exhibitions at the Knoxville Museum of Art
It is with the ambition of establishing its own glass medium collection, that the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) presents first an exhibition, Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass, and the unveiling of a permemant installation by local artist, Richard Jolley, Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity.
Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass opens one week before the Jolley unveiling, and exposes audiences to various glass techniques, as well an international group of artists that have pioneered the glass art medium and influenced Jolley. The bulk of the show looks at a cross-section of contemporary artists, and seeks to break down barriers between contemporary artists that use glass in their works versus pure glass artists. The shows hopes to showcase glass as a versatile medium, in its various techniques
The usual suspects in the glass medium, such as Dale Chihuly, are absent from this show, instead spotlighting artists, such as Fred Wilson and Rashid Johnson, who are more known for their works in other mediums. Wilson's piece, a large black mirror, Emilia's Mirror - Act 5, Scene 2, refers back to the history of Venice and his participation in the Venice Binnale where he worked with Venice glassblowers. During his study in Venice, Wilson noticed people of African ancestry seen in many Venetian works, but not identified. His use of black glass also refers to the story of Othello, which is based in Venice, and illustrated the fusion of African identity with European traditions.
Another artist, Andrew Erdos, also uses monochrome glass, but adapts a more playful approach to the medium. His piece, Smokey Sapphire, Endless Mountains, which also incorporates the use of LED lighting and wood, presents a mirrored world of cartoon animals in a box walking around in a sea of sapphire and mirrored glass, which looks to go on infinitely. Erdos began the work around the time the museum contacted him for the exhibition and adjusted the title and subject matter to coincide with show.
In assembling this large exhibit, the biggest obstacle for the KMA, was the transporting and handling of the works represented in the show. Museum staff members had to consider the scale and complexity of the works seen throughout, as many proved large and difficult to work with, due to their delicate nature.
While an exhibit in its own right, Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass, serves as an introduction for the unveiling of Richard Jolley's Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity, set to open May 4, 2014. Jolley's monumental glass sculpture, which was commission especially for the museum by long-time KMA supporters Ann and Steve Bailey, will be on display in the museum's newly refurbished Great Hall. The Great Hall, which features towering windows and walls that go on forever, seems perfect for Jolley's work, which extends for some 100 feet, soars to a height of 12 feet, and weighs 7 tons, making it one of the largest figurative glass and steel assemblages in the world. Up until the commission, there had been no art in this space. It was thought to be a public space not safe to display art. To create this big installation set up high on plinths and featuring some suspended elements, Anne and Steve Bailey funded the whole project over 5 years. Jolley completed the commission through the help of studio assistants and assembling this grand sculpture into 7 parts. The installation is compiled of thousands of individual cast and blown-glass elements; the massive work details as an epic narrative of the successive phases of life. The installation also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the KMA.
The three metal plinths which lift the sculpture 11 feet above the museum floor, each weigh 1,500 pounds and anchored into the wall to serve as a structural foundation. Cycle of Life is a visual narrative presented in seven parts on the progression of life. The first six stages take place on Earth and extends around the Great Hall's second floor wall, while the seventh stage, suggestive of the cosmos, is dramatically suspended from the ceiling.
Its first part, "Emergence", made of cast black glass, takes the form of a large-scale man and woman walking together, reminiscent of Adam and Eve. "Flight" illustrates 130 black glass birds that appear to fly off into the distance. The third cycle, "Desire" features another man and woman figure, also cast in black glass, symbolizing the act of procreation. "Tree of Life" features steel branches to which black and white doves, glistening leaves, and pomegranate blossoms, are attached. The trunk of this tree is the only element in the sculpture that extends down to the museum floor. For the section, "Contemplation", a massive head is partially recessed, yet allows for the passage of light to represent transition and a state of quiet introspection. The sculpture's climax, "Sky", suspended from ceiling of the Great Hall, is comprised of an orb made of little bits of steel, fusing a geometric spiderweb of little bits of colored glass, curving strands of metal, with blue clear orbs, meant to represent the sky. Much like the sky itself, the sculpture's colors change depending on the time of day, creating an ever-changing visual experience for museum visitors.
While born in Wichita, Kansas, Richard Jolley made Tennessee his home as a youth, when he moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In 1970, began his art training at Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee, studying under noted glass artist Michael Taylor. Jolley has participated in over 65 solo museum and gallery exhibitions throughout the United States Australia, Europe, Israel, and Japan, and it was in 2002, that the Knoxville Museum of Art first presented its major retrospective of Jolley’s work, which later traveled to 14 museums over five years in the United States. It is quite fitting that Jolley unleash such a massive installation at the KMA, as the museum celebrates the art and artists of East Tennessee and beyond. With Jolley's installation and the exhibition, the museum expects a large turnout comprised of collectors, dealers and curators that have all expressed interest both the exhibitions themselves, and the hopes of adding to the museum's glass collection.
Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass opens April 24- July 27, 2014. Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity is set to open May 4, 2014.
Keah Fryar is the Plinth contributor for the Southern Region and a Freelance Exhibit Designer and Consultant. Her website can be viewed here: https://sites.google.com/site/keahfryar/.
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