For Immediate Release June 4, 2010 Media Contacts: Susan Newsom, Communications Manager, 253.284.4732, snewsom@museumofglass.org <mailto:jpisto@museumofglass.org> Julie Pisto, Director of Marketing & Communications, 253.284.2129, jpisto@museumofglass.org Museum of Glass Announces Line-up for Visiting Artist Summer Series Tacoma, Wash. (June 4, 2010) - The Museum of Glass announces the schedule for the 2010 Visiting Artist Summer Series. Featuring 13 artists in 12 weeks, the Summer Series begins on June 16 and continues through Labor Day weekend. Each summer, the Museum invites emerging, established, and internationally-renowned artists to the Hot Shop to experiment, innovate and create with molten glass. The artists work with the Museum's Hot Shop Team, exploring and demonstrating various glassmaking techniques and styles. Included with each 5-day residency is a Conversation with the Artist, a public lecture and slide presentation, at 2 p.m. on Sundays. The 2010 Summer Series marks the eighth year of collaboration between the Museum of Glass and Pilchuck Glass School. Nearly half of the artists coming to the Museum-including Davide Salvadore, Róisín de Buitléar, Pavel Mrkus, Kari-Russell-Pool and Brynhildur Thorgeirsdóttir-will also work at Pilchuck as instructors or artists-in-residence. Five of the participating artists are international, traveling to the Northwest from as far away as Iceland and the Netherlands. American artists come from all corners of the United States. "This year's series presents a truly stellar line-up of talent," comments Museum of Glass Curator Melissa G. Post. "With the cadre of international artists, it will be a particularly exciting summer. This series offers a unique opportunity for our visitors because many of these artists rarely-if ever-work in studios open to the public. We hope visitors will plan to visit the Museum frequently." Glass enthusiasts can also experience the action in the Hot Shop via the Museum of Glass website. During Museum hours, visitors can watch live streaming video footage of the artists working, extending their Hot Shop visit with a sneak peek before they arrive and seeing what happens after they leave. Online viewers can also submit questions electronically to the Hot Shop emcee who will answer them over the live feed. "The Museum of Glass is located in the epicenter of contemporary glass, and our live feed broadcasts the daily action to the entire world," Post states. "No matter where you live, you can become part of glass history in the making by tuning in to the Museum of Glass and watching the contemporary Studio Glass movement literally take shape." Additionally, visitors can post comments about their Museum experiences on the newly updated MOG blog, which will feature posts with updated information about the artists during their residencies. Videos of past Visiting Artists are also posted on the Museum's website. Learn more about each Visiting Artist:http://www.museumofglass.org/live-glassmaking/visiting-artists/ Watch the Hot Shop live: http://www.museumofglass.org/live-glassmaking/watch-the-hot-shop-live/ MOG Blog: http://www.museumofglass.org/visit/mog-blog/ About the Artists: Davide Salvadore (Murano, Italy) Residency: June 16 - 20 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, June 20, 2 p.m. Davide Salvadore was born into a family of glassmakers in Murano, Italy and is a master of traditional Venetian glass working. He founded and manages his own studio, Campagnol e Salvadore, where he mixes his lampworking and glassmaking skills in inventive ways to create a distinctive and expressive body of work. He is a founding member of Centro Studio Vetro, an organization devoted to promoting Murano's glass art. An exhibition of his work will be on view at Tacoma's William Traver Gallery, located adjacent to the Museum, June 12 - July 3, 2010. Lynda Benglis (New York, NY) Residency: June 23 - 27 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, June 27, 2 p.m. Lynda Benglis is a pioneer of the Post-Minimalist movement of the 1960s and is perhaps best known for her poured sculptures, including her translation of Jackson Pollock's drip technique into sculptural forms. Over her notable career, she has worked with myriad materials-from plastic, wax and polyurethane to ceramics, bronze and video-creating works that portray her interest in themes of body and gender. A 40-year retrospective exhibition organized by the Irish Museum of Modern Art is currently traveling and will open at the Rhode Island School of Design this fall. During her residency, Benglis will utilize African masks as canvases for applications of glass using with her own unique aesthetic sensibility. Róisín de Buitléar (Dublin, Ireland) Residency: June 30 - July 4 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, July, 4, 2 p.m. Róisín de Buitléar has worked with glass for almost thirty years, drawing inspiration from her Irish cultural heritage. She taught at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin for two decades and is a co-founder of the Glass Society of Ireland. She currently teaches internationally while writing and lecturing about contemporary Irish glass. Marvin Oliver (Seattle, WA) and Richard Royal (Seattle, WA) Residency: July 7 - 11 Conversation with the Artists: Sunday, July 11, 2 p.m. Marvin Oliver is one of the Northwest's foremost contemporary sculptors and printmakers, specializing in Native American contemporary fine art. Throughout his 40-year career, he has worked in a variety of media including cedar, bronze, steel and glass. Oliver is Professor of American Indian Studies and Art at the University of Washington, and serves as Adjunct Curator of Contemporary Native American Art at the Burke Museum. Richard Royal has been an integral part of the Studio Glass movement for more than three decades. He was the first artist-in-residence at the Waterford Crystal Factory in Waterford, Ireland in 1998 and has been a visiting artist at many universities throughout the United States. He is recognized as one of the most skilled and talented master glassblowers in the United States. Richard Craig Meitner (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Residency: July 14 - 18 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, July 18, 2 p.m. Richard Craig Meitner's work is known for its unique juxtapositions of glass forms embellished with rust, enamel, bronze, tile, paint and print. He is inspired by a range of diverse influences including Italian painting, Japanese textiles, German Expressionism, science and nature. During his residency, Meitner will explore techniques melding pre-made, flame-worked Pyrex forms with furnace glass. His work will also incorporate painting onto the glass surfaces using an organic lacquer. This residency is presented in conjunction with Masters of Studio Glass: Richard Craig Meitner, an exhibition that opens in the Museum's gallery on July 17, 2010. Michael Sherrill (Hendersonville, NC) Residency: July 21 - July 25 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, July 25, 2 p.m. Michael Sherrill is primarily a self-taught artist, influenced by the folk pottery tradition of his native North Carolina. In 1995, he designed Mudtools®, a line of tools for potters and sculptors. Inspired by the natural world, Sherrill's sculpture combines porcelain, bronze and glass with the intent of creating "something that might bring the observer to [a] place of wonder." During his residency at Museum of Glass, Sherrill will create glass components for a bronze and glass sculpture. Pavel Mrkus (Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic) Residency: July 28 -August 1 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, August 1, 2 p.m. Pavel Mrkus studied glass at Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. In collaboration with Daniel Hanzlik, he founded BOOT audiovisual, a group dedicated to live digital performances and video projects for public spaces. He also heads the newly established time-based media program at Jan Evangelista PurkynÐ University in Prague. Mrkus has taught at Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan and at the Rhode Island School of Design. At the Museum of Glass, Mrkus plans to record natural audio and video in the Hot Shop, processing the footage to create a unique sound and image composition. The finished glass pieces he creates will become instruments for other performances. Michele Kong (Long Island City, NY) Residency: August 4 - 8 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, August 8, 2 p.m. Michele Kong is an installation artist who has pursued an eclectic array of media, from cork bark, wood, stainless steel and coconut fiber, to hot glue. She describes her work as "reminiscent of delicately woven spiders' webs, evaporating moisture, and intricate lacework magnified to an architectural scale." Kong has traveled extensively and portrays diverse cultural references in her sculptures, drawing, and site-specific installations. She recently completed a series of narrative videos which embody the feelings and characters of her sculptural elements. During her residency, Kong aspires to create mirrored glass components for a future site-specific installation. Kari Russell-Pool (Essex, CT) Residency: August 11 - 15 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, August 15, 2 p.m. Kari Russell-Pool considers herself primarily a flame-worker. Her work is inspired by her roles of being a wife and mother and she strives to create pieces that are colorful, beautiful and narrative in nature. She and her husband, glassblower Marc Petrovic, work together in their home studio, sometimes collaborating but each retaining their own personal style. Russell-Pool makes the glass rods for her flame working from the same glass furnace that Petrovic uses for his blown sculptures. "This glass does not take the stress of the torch work well but does allow a greater range of color variations, and the unique ability to be fused with furnace blown components." Brynhildur Thorgeirsdóttir (Reykjavik, Iceland) Residency: August 18 - 22 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, August 22, 2 p.m. Brynhildur Thorgeirsdóttir was born and raised in Iceland. She is known for her use of concrete, glass and metal. She favors stylized, provactive forms over natural ones, creating objects which she descibes as "rising like cliffs or mountains from their surroundings." Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout Iceland, Finland, Japan, Sweden and the United States. Ed Archie NoiseCat (Santa Fe, NM) Residency: August 25 - 29 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, August 29, 2 p.m. Ed Archie NoiseCat is a sculptor, jeweler and graphic artist. His work is influenced from the stories of his Shuswap and Stlitlimx ancestors. NoiseCat's aim is to honor and communicate aboriginal values within his art, building upon both the ancient and contemporary Northwest Coastal Native Americans' tradition of great carvers. Ron Desmett (Oakdale, PA) Residency: September 1 - 5 Conversation with the Artist: Sunday, September 5, 2 p.m. Ron Desmett has been working with glass for over three decades. Although he once focused on functional glass vessels such as goblets and bowls, for the last few years his work has been inspired by nature's landscape. Desmett says his use of hollowed out walnut trees as glass molds allows him to "infuse nature that has lost its life with life anew." During his residency, Desmett will continue his exploration of utilizing a process that includes wooden molds. IMAGES AVAILABLE The Visiting Artist Program at the Museum of Glass is generously sponsored by Windgate Charitable Foundation, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, City of Tacoma Arts Commission, Courtyard by Marriott / Tacoma Downtown and City Arts Magazine. The Visiting Artist Lecture Series is sponsored by PONCHO. The Museum of Glass provides a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions. In addition to the Hot Shop Amphitheater where visitors can watch artists work, the facilities include galleries, outdoor exhibition areas, a theater, hands-on art studio, grand hall, café and store. The Museum of Glass is sponsored in part by ArtsFund, the Boeing Company, the City of Tacoma Arts Commission, Dimmer Family Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Sequoia Foundation and the Forest Foundation. Hours and Admission Open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Third Thursdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Store is also open Tuesdays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day): also open Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed September 11, 2010, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free for members, $12 general, $10 seniors, military and students (13+ with ID), $10 groups of 10 or more, $5 children (6-12) years old. Children under 6 are admitted free. Admission is free every third Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Info Line 253-284-4750/ 1-866-4MUSEUM Museum of Glass, 1801 Dock Street Tacoma, WA 98402 www.museumofglass.org <http://www.museumofglass.org/> For more information about the Museum of Glass: Susan Newsom, Communications Manager, 253.284.4732, snewsom@museumofglass.org <mailto:jpisto@museumofglass.org> Julie Pisto, Director of Marketing & Communications, 253.284.2129, jpisto@museumofglass.org ###