KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.- The Knoxville Museum of Art presents "Richard Jolley: Sculptor of Glass," on view through March 2, 2003. Knoxville’s own Richard Jolley will be debuting his first museum retrospective at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Over the course of his 27-year career, Richard Jolley has produced a remarkable body of sculpture that explores the human figure, its timeless beauty, and expressive potential. The artist’s work falls into distinct series, each serving as a stage in his evolution toward increasingly evocative and technically challenging forms.

 

East Tennessee and the art of Richard Jolley are deeply and inextricably linked, and therefore it is entirely fitting for his retrospective to be organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art. The artist spent much of his childhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and became fascinated with sculpting glass as a student at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee. Since 1975, Jolley has maintained a studio in West Knoxville, and continues to create glass sculpture notable for its inventiveness and sophistication. His works are well represented in museum and private collections across the country, and within East Tennessee. And since its establishment in 1990, the Knoxville Museum of Art has maintained a relationship with the artist both as exhibitor and collector.

 

Jolley’s work is both symbolic and visual. He brings a new and innovative treatment to glass sculpture unlike anything that others have done. His work is proactive-engaging the mind while captivating the eye with rich colors, sensuality, humor and unique textures. The exhibition will chronicle his career from 1985 up to the latest work the "Tabula Rasa" series and also highlighting the artist’s achievements in his dynamic mixed media works.