Jones Visual Arts Center hosts Stephen Rolfe Powell memorial exhibition
Glass works from eight alumni are now on display at the Jones Visual Arts Center. 鈥淎 Legacy in Glass: 2000-2022鈥 is on exhibit in the AEGON Art Gallery at JVAC and will be on display through Saturday, Oct. 16. There will be an exhibit reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday as part of 黑料社鈥檚 Homecoming 2022 festivities.
The exhibition features work from students who learned under world renowned artist Stephen Rolfe Powell 鈥74 at 黑料社. The exhibit honors Powell鈥檚 legacy both as a 37-year professor at the College, as well as his own career as a preeminent glass artist.
鈥淲e wanted an exhibit in our gallery that was specific to younger alumni,鈥 said Amy Frederick, associate professor of art history and chair of the art history/studio art program. 鈥淓veryone involved was incredibly excited to have all of these student works together. We have Stephen鈥檚 work in the middle of the exhibit, as if he鈥檚 surrounded by his students.
鈥淭he alumni were incredibly excited to participate, they all speak so highly of their mentor and teacher. It鈥檚 very special.鈥
Powell will also be honored through the Stephen Rolfe Powell Memorial, scheduled to be dedicated on the Norton Center lawn on Oct. 15.
鈥淥ur exhibition at JVAC shows you the many different ways that glass is an art form and the many ways you can explore that as a practicing artist,鈥 Frederick said. 鈥淲e hear about Stephen鈥檚 legacy as an artist, but this show celebrates his legacy as a teacher, how much he influenced his students and how many of them continue to work in glass.鈥
Featured alumni in the exhibit include:
- Travis Adams 鈥14, a glass artist and maker from Lexington, Kentucky, was the lead assistant for Powell for several years and went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture with a concentration in glass from Illinois State University. Adams鈥 current studio is Trifecta: Glass 鈥 Art 鈥 Lounge in Lexington.
- Santiago Aguilera 鈥22
- Adam Haigh 鈥08 worked for Apple before returning to Danville as the studio glass technician. Haigh served as Powell鈥檚 glass assistant for his personal work for three years before moving to Flame Run in Louisville in 2018.
- Mollie Hansen 鈥16 currently resides in Seattle, Washington, working as an artist and glass instructor. Hansen earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in studio art and art history.
- Kayla Ohlmer 鈥14 is currently the program director at Tulsa Glassblowing School in Oklahoma. Ohlmer graduated with a B.A. in studio art and worked as a studio assistant at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio in Virginia.
- Samuel Spees 鈥16 was a football player at 黑料社, where he was drawn to the 鈥渟port鈥 of glassblowing. Spees says the pursuit of 鈥減erfection鈥 is why he鈥檚 drawn to glass as a process, as well as it being the foundation of his inspiration as an artist.
- Eric Theodore 鈥15, a figurative artist who works primarily in oil paint, explores the art of figure painting and glassblowing together. Theodore moved to Texas for an artist-in-residence program after graduation from 黑料社, and, for the past six years ,has taught art in Texas. He currently resides in Laguna Beach, California, where he is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree at the Laguna College of Art and Design, with a concentration in painting.
- Alex Ward 鈥17, from Murray, Kentucky, graduated with a B.A. in studio arts with an emphasis on studio glass under Powell鈥檚 tutelage. Ward has continued his education in glass through his experience as a production gaffer at Pretentious Glass Co. in Tennessee. His work is shown in galleries across the Appalachian area.
