Therman Statom
Encyclopedia
Therman Statom is an American Studio Glass artist whose primary medium is sheet glass. He cuts, paints, and assembles the glass - adding found glass objects along the way – to create three-dimensional sculptures. Many of these works are large in scale. Statom is known for his site-specific installations in which his glass structures dwarf the visitor. Sound and projected digital imagery are also features of the environmental works.
. In childhood Statom is reported to have told the elder Noland (who was working on his target series at the time), “I can paint like that too.” Statom attributes his early desire to be an artist to Kenneth Noland. He began his study of glass as an art medium at Pilchuck Glass School
in Stanwood, Washington in 1971, going on to study sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design
. He received the Bachelor of Art from that institution in 1974 and the Master of Art from Pratt Institute
School of Art and Design in 1978. At Pratt he made his first works with sheet glass (which, in the glass industry, is called float glass
) because the school was not equipped for hot glass working. In the early 1980s Statom received an invitation from Richard Marquis
to visit the hot glass program that he directed at the University of California in Los Angeles. When Marquis left the program in 1983 Statom headed it until its closure in 1985.
in Norfolk, Virginia and Toledo Museum of Art
in Toledo, Ohio. Internationally Statom has exhibited in Stockholm, Sweden; Paris, France; Hokkaido, Japan and Ensenada, Mexico.
and the Los Angeles International Airport
, Tom Bradley Terminal and at the Ice Center in San Jose. In Nevada a commissioned work can be seen at Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas, in Arizona at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and in New York at the New York State Arts Commission.
in 1988 and 1982; he was the recipient of a Ford Foundation
Artists Grant in 1997. Statom was made a Fellow of the American Craft Council
in 1999.
, Los Angeles, California; Cincinnati Art Museum
; City of Seattle, Seattle, Washington; Corning Inc., Corning, New York; Detroit Institute of Arts
, Detroit, Michigan; High Museum of Art
, Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
, Los Angeles, California; Milwaukee Art Museum
; Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina; National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Columbus, Ohio; Renwick Gallery
of the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, Washington D.C.; and Skirball Cultural Center
, Los Angeles, California. Overseas Statom’s work can be found in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France; Musée de Design et D’Arts Appliqués /Contemporain, Lausanne, Switzerland; and in Moscow, Russia and Maputo
, Mozambique
through the Art in Embassies program of the U.S. Department of State.
Early life and education
The son of a physician, Therman Statom was born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1953 and raised in Washington, DC. There he developed a friendship with Cady Nolan, the daughter of abstract painter Kenneth NolandKenneth Noland
Kenneth Noland was an American abstract painter. He was one of the best-known American Color field painters, although in the 1950s he was thought of as an abstract expressionist and in the early 1960s he was thought of as a minimalist painter. Noland helped establish the Washington Color School...
. In childhood Statom is reported to have told the elder Noland (who was working on his target series at the time), “I can paint like that too.” Statom attributes his early desire to be an artist to Kenneth Noland. He began his study of glass as an art medium at Pilchuck Glass School
Pilchuck Glass School
Founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg , Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The name "Pilchuck" comes from the local Native American language and translates to "red river"...
in Stanwood, Washington in 1971, going on to study sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
. He received the Bachelor of Art from that institution in 1974 and the Master of Art from Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
School of Art and Design in 1978. At Pratt he made his first works with sheet glass (which, in the glass industry, is called float glass
Float glass
Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal, typically tin, although lead and various low melting point alloys were used in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and very flat surfaces. Modern windows are made from float glass...
) because the school was not equipped for hot glass working. In the early 1980s Statom received an invitation from Richard Marquis
Richard Marquis
Richard Marquis is an American studio glass artist who was born September 17, 1945 in Bumblebee, Arizona. He studied both ceramics and glass at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a BA in 1969 and an MA in 1972...
to visit the hot glass program that he directed at the University of California in Los Angeles. When Marquis left the program in 1983 Statom headed it until its closure in 1985.
Exhibitions
His twenty-five year professional career includes exhibitions at major museums across the United States. Recent one-person exhibitions include those at the Lowe Museum of the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida; Chrysler Museum of ArtChrysler Museum of Art
The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum in the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was originally founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. , donated most of his extensive collection to the museum...
in Norfolk, Virginia and Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio, United States. The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libbey in 1901, and moved to its present location, a Greek revival building designed by Edward B....
in Toledo, Ohio. Internationally Statom has exhibited in Stockholm, Sweden; Paris, France; Hokkaido, Japan and Ensenada, Mexico.
Public commissions
Among Statom’s public commissions are those in California at Los Angeles Central Public LibraryLos Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library system serves the residents of Los Angeles, California, United States. With over 6 million volumes, LAPL is one of the largest publicly funded library systems in the world. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the...
and the Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, Tom Bradley Terminal and at the Ice Center in San Jose. In Nevada a commissioned work can be seen at Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas, in Arizona at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and in New York at the New York State Arts Commission.
Honors and awards
Therman Statom includes among his honors an Outstanding Achievement Award presented in 2008 by UrbanGlass, and a Distinguished Artist Award presented in 2006 by the James Renwick Alliance in Washington, DC. Statom was awarded fellowship grants by the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
in 1988 and 1982; he was the recipient of a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Artists Grant in 1997. Statom was made a Fellow of the American Craft Council
American Craft Council
The American Craft Council , was founded in 1943 as a national, nonprofit, educational organization to support and foster interest in the crafts in America. The council sponsers national craft shows, publishes American Craft magazine, and has an extensive awards program...
in 1999.
Work in public collections
In the United States, public collections holding Therman Statom’s work include: the California African-American MuseumCalifornia African-American Museum
The California African American Museum is a museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.-History:The museum opened in 1981, in temporary quarters at the California Museum of Science and Industry . The current facility was built with State and private funds of around $5 million...
, Los Angeles, California; Cincinnati Art Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is one of the oldest art museums in the United States. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies. Its collection of over 60,000 works make it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Midwest.Museum founders debated locating...
; City of Seattle, Seattle, Washington; Corning Inc., Corning, New York; Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
, Detroit, Michigan; High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
, Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, Los Angeles, California; Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
; Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina; National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Columbus, Ohio; Renwick Gallery
Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, located in Washington, D.C., and focuses on American craft and decorative arts from the 19th century to the 21st century...
of the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, Washington D.C.; and Skirball Cultural Center
Skirball Cultural Center
The Skirball Cultural Center is an educational institution in Los Angeles, California devoted to sustaining Jewish heritage and American democratic ideals. Open to the public since 1996, the Skirball Cultural Center is dedicated to exploring the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage...
, Los Angeles, California. Overseas Statom’s work can be found in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France; Musée de Design et D’Arts Appliqués /Contemporain, Lausanne, Switzerland; and in Moscow, Russia and Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
through the Art in Embassies program of the U.S. Department of State.