Knoxville Museum of Art presents 'Josh Simpson ~ A Visionary Journey in Glass'

Written by Martin Conger Sunday, 11 December 2011 21:42

 

KNOXVILLE, TN - The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Josh Simpson: A Visionary Journey in Glass February 6-April 19, 2009. This major exhibition highlights three decades of achievements by one of America's most acclaimed glass artists. More than 100 works trace Simpson's journey from his early goblets and vessels to the spectacular multi-layered sculptures of the present.

Many of Simpson's objects evoke the mysterious realms of outer space or NASA photographs. This extraterrestrial inspiration is especially powerful in his Planets and Megaplanet - transparent spheres encasing colorful and intricately detailed worlds made of glass. Simpson's work has been shown around the world and is in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the White House Collection of American Crafts, and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.

"Along with the natural world, my motivation comes directly from the material itself. Glass is an alchemic blend of sand and metallic oxides combined with extraordinary, blinding heat. The result is a material that flows and drips like honey. When it's hot, glass is alive. It moves gracefully and inexorably in response to gravity and centrifugal force. It possesses an inner light and transcendent radiant heat that makes it simultaneously one of the most frustrating - and one of the most rewarding - materials to work with "...Josh Simpson

The KMA hosts a members-only party Thursday, February 5, 5:30-7:30pm, which includes a gallery talk at 6pm by exhibition artist Josh Simpson.

Visit The Knoxville Museum of Art at : www.knoxart.org/

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