GLASSWEEKEND ’17 – WHEATONARTS PREMIER BIENNIAL EVENT JUNE 9, 10 AND 11
MILLVILLE, NJ – (May 9, 2017) The Creative Glass Center of America at WheatonArts and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass announce GlassWeekend ’17, a premier biennial event of contemporary art made in glass, taking place on June 9, 10 and 11. Three-day registrants participate in a variety of presentations, lectures, hands-on glassmaking experiences, Museum of American Glass tours, exhibitions, and artist demonstrations at the WheatonArts campus. On June 10 and 11, registrants and the general public have an opportunity to meet the world’s leading glass artists and collectors, visit preview works offered by world-class galleries, and watch demonstrations by esteemed artists in the WheatonArts Glass Studio. Visitors to GlassWeekend ‘17 are also invited to browse two new exhibitions at the Museum of American Glass, “Emanation 2017: An Invitational Contemporary Art Exhibit” and “The Boroff Collection: Goblets, Memories, and Friendships.”
Visiting Galleries include Bender Gallery, Asheville, NC; Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI; Hedone Gallery, Leonia, NJ; Heller Gallery, New York, NY; Maurine Littleton Gallery, Washington, DC; and Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Artists presented by these Galleries include Bertil Vallien, Carmen Lozar, Biba Schutz, Jen Blazina, Rik Allen and Shelley Muzylowski Allen, Robert Bender, Pam Sabroso, Alison Siegel, Michael Janis and more. In addition to these highly respected galleries, WheatonArts will present “GLASS GLOBAL: Artists from Around the World,” a curated exhibition of international contemporary glass, featuring work of artists from Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Japan, Australia, Czech Republic, China, Hungary, Netherlands, and Germany.
Special guest artists coming to GlassWeekend ’17 include Shelley Muzylowski Allen and Rik Allen of Skagit County, WA, Matthew Szösz from Seattle, WA, and Lucio Bubacco from the island of Murano. A keynote address will be given by Susie Silbert, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass, leading into a special Curator’s Panel over “Blue Chip Artists, ‘Glass Thinkers,’ and Boro Boys: Navigating the Landscape of Contemporary Glass.” Other highlights during the weekend include: Lewis Wexler and William Warmus moderating “The Secondary Market and Glass Road Show;” and “Glass Brings Hope,” a presentation on the transformative powers of glass art by participating organizations including Glass Roots (Newark, NJ), Urban Glass Bead Project (Brooklyn, NY) and Project Fire (ArtReach, Chicago, IL).
Proceeds from GlassWeekend ’17 will support the Creative Glass Center of America (CGCA) Fellowship Program at WheatonArts. Since 1983, the program provides working fellowships to ten individual artists from around the world each year. Recipients of Fellowships over the past 34 years range from established artists such as Josiah McElheny, Karen Lamonte, and Beth Lipman to emerging artists Misha Kahn and Amy Lemaire.
EXHIBITIONS
The Museum of American Glass exhibition, “Emanation 2017: An Invitational Contemporary Art Exhibit,” is a highlight of GlassWeekend ‘17. The exhibition features work made by contemporary artists who utilized the Glass Studio and museum resources at WheatonArts to create new work. Participating artists are: Emily Brown, Vanessa German, Michael Joo, Lorna Simpson, Therman Statom, Matthew Szösz, and the artist team, Flock the Optic.
The Museum of American Glass will also present “The Boroff Collection: Goblets, Memories and Friendships,” a special exhibit that shares the passion of contemporary glass art goblet collectors, Barbara and her late husband, Alan Boroff, from Radnor, PA. Through a curated selection of goblets from their extensive collection, this exhibit tells the story of the Boroff’s journey as collectors, illustrates their style and exemplifies their connection to and respect for artists.
WheatonArts’ Creative Glass Center of America program alumni will be featured in a special exhibition “Expression: Creative Glass Center Invitational,” in the Gallery of Fine Craft. Participating artists include Jennifer Crescuillo, Morgan Gilbreath, Amy Lemaire and Matthew Szösz.
VISIT
Information on registration for the whole weekend and special Fellowship rates for groups can be found on www.wheatonarts.org or call 856-825-6800.
Public GlassWeekend ‘17 hours run Saturday, June 10 from 11 am-5 pm and Sunday, June 11 from 11 am-4 pm. Admission for the general public on June 10 and 11 is $10.00 Adults, $9.00 Senior Adults, and $7.00 Students. Children five and under are free. Attendance to the Gallery Exhibition and all other WheatonArts facilities including the Glass Studio demonstrations are included in the price of admission. Tickets are available at the gate.
WheatonArts strives to ensure the accessibility of its exhibitions, events, and programs to all persons with disabilities. Provide two weeks’ notice for additional needs. Patrons with hearing and speech disabilities may contact WheatonArts through the New Jersey Relay Service (TRS) 800-852-7899 or by dialing 711.
Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the New Jersey Cultural Trust. WheatonArts also receives general operating support from the New Jersey Historical Commission, Division of Cultural Affairs in the New Jersey Department of State and is supported in part by the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism. Additional project support funding for GlassWeekend ’17 has been provided by Bank of America.
NOTE TO EDITORS
About WheatonArts
WheatonArts and Cultural Center, founded as Wheaton Village in 1968, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to engage artists and audiences in an evolving exploration of creativity. The mission will be advanced through the interpretation of collections and exhibitions; education initiatives and culturally diverse public programs; residencies and other opportunities for artists. With a history spanning four decades, WheatonArts has earned regional, national and international recognition for its unique collections and programs. The Museum of American Glass is at the heart of the Center, housing the most comprehensive collection of glass produced in America. Located in Millville, the center of the nation’s first glass industry, the Museum is one of only eight museums in New Jersey to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Shelley Muzylowski Allen
Shelley Muzylowski Allen was born in Manitoba, Canada, and has a B.F.A. in Painting and Intaglio from the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design. After working with the William Morris sculpture team in Washington State as a glass-sculpting assistant from 1998 to 2004, Shelley established a glass and sculpture studio with her husband, artist Rik Allen at their property in Skagit County, WA. In addition to being artists, Shelley and Rik have taught internationally at the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan, Nuutajarvi Glass Village in Finland and the International Glass Festival in Stourbridge, England. They have also taught nationally, including the Penland School of Crafts, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and at Pilchuck Glass School. Shelley has been awarded Provincial, and Canada Council grants and her work is held nationally and internationally in public institutions and private collections.
Rik Allen
Rik Allen was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and has a B.A. in Anthropology from Franklin Pierce University. In 1995, Rik also became a member of the William Morris sculpture team, specializing in engraving, cutting, and finishing glass sculpture for 12 years. His current series of work has been in the form of spacecraft, rockets, and scientific apparatuses. While many of Rik’s pieces have a reference to his curiosity for science, they also convey humor, simple narratives, and a lightheartedness that is embodied in much of science fiction’s antiquated vision of the future. His work has been featured and reviewed in numerous publications and is held in national and international private collections.
Matthew Szösz
Matthew Szösz creates new approaches to form by developing innovative methods of employing materials including glass. Born in Rhode Island, Matthew Szösz has received two Bachelor’s degrees (Fine Arts and Industrial Design), as well as a Masters in Fine Art from Rhode Island School of Design. He has won several awards, including the 2009 Jutta Cuny-Franz Memorial Award, an L. C. Tiffany Foundation grant, and the 2015 Irvin Borowsky Prize. He has been an artist in residence at university programs across the US, Denmark, Japan, and Australia; taught workshops and classes at numerous glass venues; and has exhibited widely at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, GlazenHuis (Flemish Centre for Contemporary Glass Art) and the Museum of Art and Design in NYC, among others.
Lucio Bubacco
Lucio Bubacco was born on the island of Murano in 1957. At fifteen, he received his artisan’s license and began marketing Venetian lampwork collectibles. In 1980, he began studying anatomical drawing with the Venetian artist Alessandro Rossi and figures in movement became a central theme of his work, transcending traditional application of lampworking. His work has been selected for numerous solo exhibitions around the world including Habatat Galleries in Chicago, IL; Museo del Vidrio in Monterrey, Mexico; Hakone Venetian Glass Art Museum in Otaru, Japan; and Muriel Karasik Gallery in New York. Collections including his work can be found at the Museum of Art and Design, New York; Museo del Vetro in Italy; Musée Atelier du Verre in France; and Glasmuseum Frauenauand in Germany, among others.
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