Joel Philip Myers
Inaugural Season Exhibit Premiere and Artist's Reception
Sunday, October 23, 1 - 3 p.m.; the artist will be present.
Free admission; suggested donation at the door welcome.
Exhibit continues through December 16, 2005
The Fine Art Museum presents a unique glass installation by Joel Philip Myers, internationally renowned artist who for thirty-five years has been a leader of the contemporary studio glass movement. Myers' "Black and White" and "Dialogue" series installation groupings offer a challenging break from conventional use of studio glass material and offer a provocative and new dimension to the versatile glass medium.
Joel Philip Myers is Professor Emeritus from Illinois State University where he established the studio glass program in 1970. He currently lives and works in Pennsylvania and in Denmark.
Born in 1934 in Paterson, New Jersey, Myers graduated with honors from Parsons School of Design in 1954 and later studied with Richard Kjaergaard at Kunsthaandvaerkerskolen, Copenhagen, Denmark in 1957. Myers received his BFA and MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, New York.
In 1963, Myers became director of design at the Blenko Glass Factory in Milton, West Virginia. At Blenko, the expectation of his position allowed him to the freedom experiment with new processes, form, and concepts. Myers' work has been included in the most important national and international glass exhibitions since 1970 and collected by major museums and institutions in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
The artist comments on his work:
"In 1991 I stopped making the Continuous Fragment Series. It was an abrupt but premeditated step taken, not because I lost interest in the work, but because I felt the need, at that point in my life, to move on and seek new creative directions. I determined that I would not commit to any exhibitions (of new work) in the next several years, knowing full well that I needed the time to search for new directions which would require extensive experimentation.
"During most of my career much of my work was inspired by the natural world: landscapes, rivers, flowers etc. But now the inspiration for my new work focuses on the conditions of our humanity.
"This focus led, in 1996-97 to a series of Black and White installations focused on pain, war and suffering. These installations were titled "Ghosts of War" and "The dogs go on with their doggy life. And the torture's horse scratches its innocent behind on a tree" (the latter a line from W.H. Au
den's poem "Musee des Beaux Arts").
"In late 1997 I began two new series, still focusing on human kind, which were more optimistic and cheerful, even amusing. The Dialogue Series suggests human discourse and relationships. The Enticement Series is about our desires, our foibles, our need for more and exciting treasures. The Color Studies Series is precisely that; an indulgence that my long love relationship with color could not resist."
The Joel Philip Myers exhibition has been organized and circulated by the McLean County Art Center, Bloomington, Illinois, and funded in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council and generous donors.
return to the inaugural season exhibitions page