The studio glass movement, a recent phenomenon in art historical terms, began in the 1950's in the studio of Harvey Littleton, a professor of ceramics at the University of Wisconsin. He began to explore glass as a possible medium for individual artists in small studio spaces. A groundswell of enthusiasm raised studio glass to the top of the art world, a movement that counts Americans as the real masters of the craft.

The art world of Kentucky is fortunate to count among its artists, Stephen Rolfe Powell, Professor of Art at Centre College in Danville. Since the early 1980's, he has been blowing spectacular vessels, three to four feet tall, which incorporate up to 500 separate glass elements. In a pyrotechnic ballet, he directs five studio assistants who help him as he gathers, shapes and blows glass at temperatures in excess of 2000° F. from his spectacular mountain-top studio.

Millennium Glass is an invitational exhibition co-curated by Stephen Powell, collector Adele Leight and Brion Clinkingbeard, Curator of the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation. As perhaps the youngest of all artistic movements, studio glass artists are on the forefront of technological practice and are creating some of the most exciting and technically difficult works in the entire art world. It is therefore fitting to mark the millennium in a salute to this young, lively field of endeavor.

Working with Stephen Powell and Adele Leight, we have selected a list of artists who are at the forefront of studio glass practice, drawn from all corners of the globe.

Participating artists include: Herb Babcock; Philip Baldwin/Monica Guggisberg; Rick Beck; Ricky Bernstein; Frederick Birkhill; Sonja Blomdahl; Zoltan Bohus; Lucio Bubacco; Robert Carlson; William Carlson; Dan Clayman; KeKe Cribbs; Dan Dailey; Einar de la Torre; Jamex de la Torre; Fritz Dreisbach; Robin Grebe; Shane Fero; David Huchthausen; Sidney Hutter; Judy Jensen; Richard Jolley; John Kuhn; Toshio Lezumi; Marvin Lipofsky; Stanislav Libensky/Jaroslava Brychtova; Maria Lugossy; Flora Mace/Joey Fitzpatrick; Andrew Magdanz; Dante Marioni; Paul Marioni, Richard Marquis; Richard Meitner; Tom Patti; Stephen Powell; Pike Powers; Clifford Rainey, Richard Royal; Ginny Ruffner; Judith Schaechter; Jack Schmidt; Thomas Scoon; Susan Shapiro; Lino Tagliapietra; Michael Taylor; Cappy Thompson; Ulrica Hydman-Vallien; Steven Weinberg; Dick Weiss; Dana Zamecnikova.

Traveling Exhibition Itinerary:

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

Montgomery, Alabama

January 13 - March 10, 2001

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Hunter Museum of American Art

Chattanooga, Tennessee

June 15 - September 21, 2001

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