New Work by Renowned Studio Glass Artist & Prof. Bill Carlson
At the Lowe Art Museum
ANNUAL UM FACULTY AND STUDENT EXHIBITIONS

WHAT: William Carlson: Aquila Non Capit Muscas (An Eagle Does Not Catch Flies) and Annual Juried Student Competition Exhibition
WHEN: April 24-June 6, 2010
Opening Reception & Artist Lecture: Aquila Non Capit Muscas & juried student exhibition: Fri, April 23, 7-10 pm
WHERE: Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami Campus, 1301 Stanford Dr, Coral Gables
INFO: (305) 284-3535 or visit www.lowemuseum.org

The University of Miami Lowe Art Museum will greet spring with a faculty exhibition, featuring the internationally collected glass artist, Endowed Chair, and UM Art Department Professor William Carlson. The UM Faculty Exhibition, William Carlson: Aquila Non Capit Muscas (An Eagle Does Not Catch Flies) will be on view at the Lowe Art Museum from April 24 to June 6, 2010. On view through May 9, is the first of the yearly two-part student exhibitions, the Annual Juried Student Competition Exhibition.

One of the most important figures working in studio glass is Bill Carlson, who will have a one man show of his current work at the Lowe Art Museum on the UM campus, April 24-June 6, 2010.

Bill teaches glass at UM, is the former Chair of the Department of Art and Art History before becoming an Endowed Chair of the Arts at UM.

Example of Bill’s work can be seen when visiting the Palley Glass collection, one of the world’s best-known most comprehensive glass collections, as well as upon entering the Palley Pavilion, itself. Bill was commissioned by Myrna and Sheldon Palley to create a window.

The Palleys were also instrumental in developing the glass program at UM, and in bringing Carlson to Miami to head the Department.

Both the donation of the Palley Collection and Bill’s reputation as an artist and a teacher places UM in a unique position. The University has a specialty that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the SE.

One of the things that attracts Bill to glass is its potential for experimentation. “Glass art has an undetermined or open future. There’s not as much in the way of predictable expectation.”

A preview and reception for the juried student exhibition and Aquila Non Capit Muscas, will be held Friday, April 23 from 7-10 pm. The evening will be highlighted with a special lecture by William Carlson. A preview reception for the Annual Masters of Fine Arts Candidates Exhibition, on view from May 13 through June 6, is Thursday, May 12, 2010 from 7-9 pm. Both receptions are free and open to the public.

Considered among the most important figures in the studio glass movement, Carlson creates laminated sculptures that incorporate a variety of materials, ranging from glass of his own making to bits and bands of commercially produced safety glass and Vitrolite, to granite. His work addresses issues of interior space, geometry, texture, and color.

William Carlson, a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Award, his work is included in numerous museum collections around the world, including Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Corning Museum of Glass, Museum of Art & Design (formerly American Craft Museum) in New York, and the Hokkaido Museum of Art in Sapporo, Japan. The entrance to the Myrna and Sheldon Palley Pavilion for Contemporary Glass and Studio Arts at UM’s Lowe Art Museum features a site-specific glass installation by Carlson entitled Prõcellōsus (Sudden Storm).

William Carlson, an endowed UM Professor, received his MFA from Alfred University, New York State College of Ceramics. He has served as Professor of Art and Program Chair of Glass, Clay, Sculpture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His program at the University of Illinois was honored in 1988 by the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass for its contributions to the contemporary glass movement.

He has also taught or developed programs at major craft education centers, including the Cleveland Institute of Art, Haystack Mountain School, Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts and Appalachian Center for Crafts.

In 2003, Carlson joined the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences as Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Art History, and has successfully strengthened its programs in art history, ceramics, glass, graphic design, painting, printmaking, and sculpture.

Said Myrna Palley, “Bill is widely considered one of the most important figures in the studio glass movement, and has significantly impacted the contemporary art glass movement as both an artist and an educator. We are so proud to have him here in Miami: teaching, creating, and mentoring young artists.”

The exhibition – Aquila Non Capit Muscas – is organized by the UM Department of Art and Art History and sponsored in part by Stella Holmes and Overseas Partners Realty, Inc.

The Lowe Art Museum is located at the University of Miami at 1301 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 12 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and 12 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Regular Admission (not including special events) is $10; $5 for Seniors and Non-UM Students; Free for Lowe Art Museum Members, University of Miami students, faculty and staff, and children under 12. For more information, call (305) 284-3535 or visit www.lowemuseum.org.