The UW-Madison Glass Lab is one of UW’s treasured “firsts”—the first collegiate glass program in the nation. 2022 marked the sixtieth anniversary of this seminal narrative. In 2023-2024, the UW Glass Lab presents Glass Madison—a year-long celebration of the sixth decade of this history, composed of Exhibitions, a Symposium, and Public Programs.
Glass Madison: Exhibitions
Opens in October
Glass Madison Exhibitions reflect contemporary glass practice through a survey of work from the sixth decade of the UW Glass Lab, featuring current student, alumni, and faculty work.
The Sixth Decade of UW Glass
October 1 – 22
Artists: Lauren Aria, Eli Busk, Jocelyn Chan, Nicholas Christensen, Carla Christenson, Alix Deane, Kagen Dunn, Paulina Eguino, Jonah Figueroa Daley, Lucas Fitzpatrick, Carlos Gacharna, Ashley Goodwyn, Cullen Houser, Matt Jacob, Emily Leach, Anna Lehner, Emily Lesch, Craig Li, Stephanie Lifshutz, Jessalyn Mailoa, Malinda Miller, Ben Orozco, Suzy Peterson, Sam Roberts, Elizabeth Sheeler, Bre’Annah Stampley, Lauren Steinert, Abby Sunde, Heather Sutherland, Mary Thao, Chelsea Thompto, Sarah Uhen, and Dongheng Yang
Opening Reception: Friday, October 6, 7:30-9:30pm
Location: Art Lofts Gallery and Backspace Gallery, 111 N Frances St, Madison, WI
Glass Madison: The Sixth Decade of UW Glass surveys work from the last ten years of the UW Glass Lab, reflecting the priorities and interests of today’s emerging artists working with glass and expanded glass processes. These artists: draw from a plurality of glass histories that precede, include, and succeed American Studio Glass; elevate lesser-known narratives of Harvey Littleton’s legacy, and reflect a more holistic landscape of voices that speak through this material today. Glass Madison: The Sixth Decade of UW Glass contributes to the articulation of this unnamed moment in contemporary practice.
Absolute Zero
September 29 – November 16
Artists: Felicia LeRoy [BFA ’14] and MFA Candidate Carolyn Spears
Opening Reception: Friday, September 29, 6-8pm
Gallery Talk: Thursday, October 5, 5-7pm
Location: Memorial Union Gallery, 800 Langdon St, Madison, WI
The first of the Glass Madison Exhibitions opens this week! The Wisconsin Union Directorate Art Committee presents Absolute Zero, referring to the basis of the Kelvin temperature scale—the theoretical extreme of the lowest temperature possible. Featuring Felicia LeRoy and Carolyn Spears, their expertise in some of the hottest material on earth is paired with their subject matter, which addresses extremes in human and geological experiences via the glass-like substance of ice.
Flameworking at UW-Madison
October 1 – 21
Artists: Lauren Aria, Tracy Drier, Tyler Gordon, Sam Merkel, and Andrew Timmerman
Opening Reception: Friday, October 6, 7:30-9:30pm
Location: Gelsy Verna Gallery, Art Lofts, 111 N Frances St, Madison, WI
Flameworking has played a significant role in the research enterprise of UW-Madison since the late 1800s. Today, students in the UW Glass Lab study this craft and commonly work under the mentorship of UW-Madison Department of Chemistry Distinguished Master Glassblower Tracy Drier. These alumni, amongst many more, work in flameworking across a vast array of industries and contexts, reflecting the multidisciplinary influence of flameworking today on contemporary practice.
Research & Outreach
October 2 – 17
Artists: Aaron Bossen, Erik Burt, Tyler Gordon, Reyna Groff, John Hallett, Suzanne Peterson, Dr. Kristen Pickett, Helen Lee, and Anna Lehner, and Dr. Ruth Sullivan
Opening Reception: Friday, October 6, 4:30-6:30pm
Location: School of Education Gallery, Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI
The first academic glass program in the nation was founded at UW-Madison, in an interdisciplinary Art Department in a School of Education within a large research university in 1962. This context significantly influences the nature of creative inquiry that transpires at the UW Glass Lab. Alumni and faculty works shown here think through the boundaries, parameters, and limitations of the material. How do we work with glass as artists? Who does this material reach? What impact does a materially-informed arts education have on pedagogy, belonging, and well-being? Glass has played a pivotal role in the 175-year history of research at UW-Madison, and today’s glass artists continue this tradition of research practice in expansive and far-reaching ways that embody the Wisconsin Idea.
Wrestling With Balance: Tom Zickuhr Solo Exhibition
October 1 – 22
Opening Reception: Friday, October 6, 7:30-9:30pm
Location: Glass Lab Micro Gallery, Art Lofts, 111 N Frances St, Madison, WI (Viewable from outside at the end of Parking Lot 94)
Wrestling With Balance is a solo exhibition by Tom Zickuhr, Neon Lecturer at UW-Madison. Tom Zickuhr is a neon glass/mixed media artist based out of Madison Wisconsin. With over twenty years of working with neon glass as a sculptor, Thomas uses light to help define form. In addition to instructing Neon: Light as Sculpture at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Tom owns and operates Neon Lab, a Madison WI-based neon glass shop.
Good Things: Intercollegiate Small Works
October 6 – 22
Artists: Dafny Antolínez, Kieran Betz, Zielyn Boozer, Hannah Buss, Runsheng Jin, Silver Kim, Max Kleinmann, Brenden Laith Roumaya, Spider Martins, Dexter McChesney, Oliver Ray, Ben Rotter, Nicole Stowe, Florian van Dalen, Yiko Yang, and Phoenix Yuan
Opening Reception: Friday, October 6, 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Gallery 7, Humanities Building 7th Floor, 455 N Park St, Madison, WI
Good Things: Intercollegiate Small Works surveys glass from the academic programs that grew from the founding of the UW-Madison Glass Lab in 1962 by Professor Emeritus Harvey Littleton. What was once a landscape of 70+ academic glass programs is now a smaller community of ~45 programs as the field of glass continues to evolve. Good Things: Intercollegiate Small Works emphasizes contemporary work in glass from current graduate and undergraduate students in academic glass programs, reflecting the priorities and interests of today’s emerging artists working with glass and expanded glass processes.
Exuviae
January – February 2024
Location: Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S Livingston St, Suite 100, Madison, WI
Indeterminate Objects
January – February 2024
Location: Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S Livingston St, Suite 100, Madison, WI
Glass Madison Exhibitions
Glass Madison Educational Gathering Symposium
October 6 – 7, 2023
The Glass Madison Educational Gathering is a symposium of intercollegiate and community glass programs. This convening brings together the creative communities that grew from the founding of the UW Glass Lab at the close of its sixtieth anniversary. Students, educators, and glass professionals alike are invited to join us for two days of celebrating contemporary glass practice.