VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Jung Center of Houston presents two exhibitions in April -  Peter Mangan: Shadows and Ushabtis & Louis Smith: Bentlight: Fantasies in Glass. Both are on view April 1 through April 28.

Peter Mangan: Shadows and Ushabtis
We all view the world through the frame of the human figure. Inside this figure there is more than muscle, blood, and bone. Imagine if we could see the hidden moments, dreams, and memories.

Artist's Statement:  The creation of sculpture is an ongoing process. It has allowed me to venture into areas such as: color, natural materials, representation, abstraction, functionality, symbols and aesthetic beauty. I have tried to find and develop an original voice. My primary media are glass and metals. Creating art is an ongoing process that invigorates and sustains my life. My experiences have broadened with age, travel, and learning. As a result, I have found myself increasingly involved in gallery shows, commissions and public art projects.

I received my BFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978. My first exposure to working with glass was a job at John Kebrle Studio in Dallas. This was followed by working with Susan Stinsmuehlen at Renaissance Glass in Austin, TX. Through Susan, I was able to assist her at the Pilchuck Glass School in Oregon in 1982 and 1983. A move to San Francisco in 1979 expanded my artistic awareness. I worked in various glass studios in the Bay Area for eight years. At that point I decided to attend graduate school at San Jose State University. I received my MFA in 1987.

For the last twenty-two years I have been a self-employed artist. My artwork has been shown and collected in the U.S.A., Europe and Japan. When I look back on pivotal experiences, certain events come to mind such as: my apprenticeship at Bullseye Glass Company in Portland, OR, 1983; being a Visiting Artist at the New York Experimental Glass Center, 1988; and traveling around the world in 1996. Since 1998, I have had two studios, one in San Francisco, CA and the other in Blanco, TX, in the heart of the Hill Country. Living and working in these contrasting environments allows me to take on additional challenges and bring my artwork to a wider audience.

Louis Smith: Bentlight: Fantasies in Glass
Light can dance with glass in unexpected ways to form dreamlike images. To capture these brief entries into his imagination, Louis Smith transforms the play of light with glass into an image in the darkroom.

Pictured above:  sculpture by Peter Mangan.