"Stories of the New World will feature custom art installations by Therman Statom, a major figure in the Studio Glass movement. Throughout his career, Statom has pushed the boundaries of his medium - challenging his audience to look at glass in new and interesting ways. His interest in studio glass began as a student in the 1970s at the Rhode Island School of Design. He studied with Dale Chihuly, who has remained a lifelong friend and mentor. In 1971, Statom participated in the inaugural season of the Pilchuck Glass School and has been known as an innovator and a force in the Studio Glass movement ever since. Statom is a pioneer in the use of glass as a material for sculpture and room-size installation art. His work is distinguished from other glass artists of his generation in that he works with a wide variety of materials in addition to blown glass. His works are assembled from an inventory of objects he makes in the studio such as glass ladders, mirrored chairs, exotic blown glass vessels and painted images. These forms, which seem to possess underlying symbolic meanings, are brought together in compositions imbued with mystery. Stories of the New World will be a large-scale, multi-part glass installation. Statom will use Juan Ponce de Leon's 1513 search for the fabled Fountain of Youth as a point of departure to explore both historic and contemporary themes of hope, discovery, ambition and destiny. Ponce de Leon intrigues Statom in part because of his historic association with Florida, but more so because of the broader implications, symbolic and real, societal and personal, of the explorer's quest for this elusive goal.
"I want the gallery to have the atmosphere of having arrived at a place or destination that reflects the search, discovery and mysticism inherent in these ideas. In essence, this installation will function as a conceptual Fountain of Youth." - Therman Statom.
This exhibition will transform 5,600 square feet of the OMA's galleries into a visually dazzling environment of light and color. Visitors will take a journey, which will include a walk through a mirrored maze, panoramic murals, video projections and a blown glass sculpture. The journey will end in a room-size glass building filled with art works representing the artist's conception of a Fountain of Youth."
Unknown. "Therman Statom: Stories of the New World." Orlando Museum of Art. website accessed July 7, 2009. http://www.omart.org/exhibitions/therman-statom-stories-world
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