' Glass Art | Kim Foster Gallery
Kathleen Mulcahy
I Am Water
September 06 - November 03, 2018

Press Release

 

Art becomes more necessary in a fast paced, social media and tech driven world. It can mean something more to a viewer when it speaks to one’s inner self. This is where we find the place to contemplate, reflect and recharge. Art has the power to rivet us to that moment, whether visual or through sound. When someone says – “that moved me to tears,” or “this work has replaced the air in the room,” or “it took my breath away,” they are speaking of the poetics of space. Art is about connecting the plane of beauty to the sublime. It is the window to that other dimension of stillness, slowing down between looking and experiencing. Art made with glass has that power. This work is the embodiment of all that came before, the trial and error, the techniques or invention, as it moves toward the idea of tranquility fully formed.

Kathleen Mulcahy’s glass panels imitate the look of liquid elements in nature. But there is nothing of nature’s seemingly random behavior in these compositions. Instead, Mulcahy simplifies the irregularity of organic shapes to create controlled arrangements. Her glass elements may be prompted by something observed in nature, but they have been refined to a purified geometric form. Works in this series involve hot-worked and flame-worked glass shapes attached to slumped and acid etched plate glass backed by a fabricated steel sheet.

 

link to exhibition video

 

link to artist website

A Leading Name in Glass Art

With a Masters of Fine Arts in glass sculpture and three-dimensional design from Alfred University, she directed glass art studio programs at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh then went on to develop the Pittsburgh Glass Center, one of the top public access glass studios in the nation. For which she was honored as Pennsylvania Artist of the Year in 2013. During this time, her own work — installation pieces, cast glass, blown glass objects — evolved into unique and poignant statements. Her glass works are in many public and private collections including the American Craft Museum, The Corning Museum of Glass, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Renwick Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, and The Westmoreland Museum of Art. Mulcahy has won numerous awards including grants from the NEA, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and a Fulbright.

Glass Art at the Kim Foster Gallery

Here at the Kim Foster Gallery, we’re passionate about representing art and artists from a wide range of disciplines. That’s why we’re proud and thrilled to house the work of so many unique and one-of-a-kind artists. Throughout the years, we’ve discovered that glass art is one of our favorite art forms. As a medium, glass truly stands apart from the crowd—and nowhere is this truer than in the art of Kathleen Mulcahy. Countless art enthusiasts, creative minds, and lovers of culture have viewed and been inspired by the simple beauty, uniqueness, and lines of Kathleen’s work.

The Primal Form of a Drop

As Kathleen Mulcahy is known to say, “glass is the verb of my work revealed through the primal form of a drop.” She is inspired by the natural world around us and the role that water plays in nature. Rivers, lakes, and storms provide the raw inspiration and ideas that influence her glass water drop installations.

Want to Learn More?

Looking to take a deeper dive into the work of Kathleen Mulcahy? Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Kim Foster Gallery for more information about her work or the work of any artists in our gallery. We can also schedule a private viewing by appointment.

 


Biography
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2019 VERVE, Kim Foster Gallery, New York City

2018 I Am Water, Kim Foster Gallery, New York City

Art Miami CONTEXT 2018, Kim Foster booth, Miami, FL

Habitat Galleries, Sarasota, FL

2017 Making the Ordinary Extraordinary, Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA

Steady Flow of Cool and Hollowed Truths, Alfstad& Contemporary, Sarasota, FL

2016  Relief, Kim Foster Gallery, New York City

Westmoreland Museum “Opposites Attract: Kathleen Mulcahy and Sylvester Damianos” PA 

Beauty in the Abstract: Artists Expressions in Glass, Long Boat Key Center for the Arts, Sarasota, Florida

44th Invitational Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan

Beauty in the Abstract, Habatat Galleries, Longboat Key Art Center, Florida

2015  Glass: A Delicate Balance, Kim Foster Gallery, New York

SOFA Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Chicago, Il

43rd Invitational Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan   

Karen Echt Gallery Invitational, Chicago, Il

2014  42nd Invitational Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan

Karen Echt Gallery Invitational, Chicago, Il

2013  (not) Water, Kim Foster Gallery, New York                   

41th Invitational Glass Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan

SOFA Exhibition, Pismo Gallery, Chicago, Il

2012  SOFA Chicago, Pismo Gallery, Chicago, Il

40th Invitational Glass Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan

2011  Cycles and Symbols : Nature in Glass,  Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Arts Cultural Center, Millville, NJ

New Work, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

2010  A Decade and Change, Borelli Edwards Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Perestroika, Selby Art Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL

2009  A Matter of Form, Cohen Gallery, Alfred University, New York

2007  Viva Vetro! Glass Alive! Venice and America, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Truth/Beauty,  Chautaugua Center for the Visual Arts.  New York

Glassnost, Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Pittsburgh

Celebrating Connections: Contemporary Glass by Mid Atlantic Artists

Museum of American Glass, Millville, New Jersey

Set Design, The Sounds of A Voice, Philip Glass Opera, Pittsburgh Opera Theater, Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh

2006  Truth/ Beauty, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pennsylvania

25th Anniversary Exhibition, The Glass Gallery, Bethesda, MD

2005  Masters of the Visual Arts, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

Well Hung,Chandeliers Reviealed.  Pittsburgh Glass Center

2003  New Work, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon

20/20, Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Village, New Jersey

2002  The Maxine and Bill Block Collection, Carnegie Museum of Art, ’03 Toledo Museum of Art

2001  Artist in Residence Exhibition, Artist Image Resource, Pittsburgh, PA

Hot & Cool:  Contemporary Glass Works, traveling exhibition with catalog, 1999-2001

1998  Breathless:  The Figure in Contemporary Glass, Art Center of Battle Creek, Michigan

1997   Transformations, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh

Parallel Visions, Christine Olson, curator, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh

1995  Respect, Vicky Clark, curator. The Brew House.  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Beyond the Third Dimension: Contemporary Pennsylvania Sculpture,

Passions, Kean College of New Jersey, Union, New Jersey

1994  Made in America, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland

Issues of Abstraction, Allegheny College Art Galleries, Meadville, Pennsylvania

Across Borders / Sin Fronteras, The Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C

Revised Context, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon

1993  Contemporary Artists’ Series, State Museum of Pennsylvania.  Harrisburg

Body of Work, Butters Gallery Ltd, Portland, Oregon

1993  Degrees of Abstraction, 925 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh.  Curator, Vicky Clark

1992  Artist of the Year, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 

 

COLLECTIONS

American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

American Eagle Outfitters Headquarters, Pittsburgh, PA

American Craft Museum, New York City

Bayer Corporation

Kean College of New Jersey, Union, NJ

City of Pittsburgh, Light Rail Transit

Deloitte and Touche Headquarters, Pittsburgh

Duquesne Light Corporate Headquarters, Pittsburgh

Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York

Heinz History Center

Nova Chemicals inc.

State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg

Westinghouse Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

The Imagine Museum, St. Petersburg, FL

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2016 Clark, Dr. Vicky A., A Fine Intoxication, Opposites Attract, Westmoreland Museum, PA

2010 Masters: Blown Glass, Lark Books, Sterling Publishing Co,

2009 Olson, Kristina, A Perestroika of Form, Perestroilka (n) Restructuring: The Glass Sculpture of Kathleen Mulcahy, Ron Desmett and Martin Prekop, Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Fl

2008 Melada, Geoffrey W., Together 24/7 Pittsburgh Magazine, February 2008

Krainak, Paul.  GLASSNOST.  Essay for Catalog, Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University Campus, Pittsburgh, PA

2007 Olson, Kristina, Kathleen Mulcahy and Ron Desmett. review of exhibition

Truth/Beauty, Pittsburgh Glass Center SCULPTURE Magazine. June

Kangas, Matthew and Susanne Frantz, Viva Vetro! Glass Alive! Venice and America, Curator, Sarah Nichols, published by Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Tetkowski, Neil.  Natural Forces Exhibition Brochure, Kean University

Olson, Kristina.  Natural Forces Exhibition Brochure Essay, Kean University

Reiter, Burkhardt.  Opera theater deftly fuses elements in ‘Sound of

Voice’ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 28, 2007

Thomas, Mary.  ‘Glassnost’ at CMU gallery represents enlightened ideas. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 27

Todt, Ron.  Exhibitions look through the ‘glass city’. Buffalo News. April 8

Kanny, Mark.  Opera Theater mixes eras, cultures in ‘Voice’.  Tribune Review. April 28

2006 O’Sullivan, Michael. A Show Full of Ideas, Washington Post, January 13, 2006

2004 Krainak, Paul.  Artists Crossing Lines.  SCULPTURE Magazine, January/February

Women in the Arts Profile, Glass Artist Kathleen Mulcahy Represents Woman in a New Language, Pennsylvania Commission for Women, Commonwealth of Women Publication

 

AWARD / HONORS
  • 2013 Pennsylvania Artist of the Year, Governor’s Award for the Arts
  • 2008-2009 Fine Foundation Award, Leadership Pittsburgh Year Long Study
  • 2006 Speaker, The Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women, Pittsburgh
  • 2005 International Glass Competition, Neus Glas Magazine, Frechen, Germany
  • 1997 Artist in Residence, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
  • 1996 Creative Achievement Award, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
  • 1994 Mid Atlantic Arts Fellowship, Studio Access to Glass, Corning, NY
  • 1993 Individual Artist Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
  • 1991-2003 Co-Founded the Pittsburgh Glass Center with Ron Desmett
  • 1991 Masterworks Fellow, Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey
  • 1984 Fulbright, Lusk Memorial Award, Murano, Italy
  • 1983 Individual Artist Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
  • 1981 Individual Artist Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
  • 1980 Visiting Artist, ArtPark, Lewiston, New York
  • 1978 Invited Participant to the World Crafts Council, Kyoto Japan