2024 Saxe Emerging Artists by Glass Art Society

2024 Saxe Emerging Artists

Over the years, the Glass Art Society has selected and commended a number of emerging artists for their promising talent based on a rigorous, competitive jurying process. Applicants, nominated by academics, curators and peers, are evaluated by a professional panel of jurors.

In 1980, Dorothy and the late George Saxe began collecting glass art. Over the course of their marriage, they built one of the premier contemporary glass collections found in the United States. As collectors, the Saxes supported artists, galleries, institutions, and have played an immense role in elevating and increasing appreciation of glass art. At the 2015 GAS conference, the Saxes were honored with a tribute event which helped establish the Saxe Emerging Artists Lecture Fund to support future generations of glass artists. Donations can be made on our website at glassart.org.

At the 2024 GAS conference in Berlin, Germany, three selected artists had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their work to a large audience of artists, academics, educators, collectors, critics, and peers at the Emerging Artists Panel.

Priscilla Kar Yee Lo, Sadhbh Mowlds, and Abegael U elman, the 2024 Saxe Award winners, on stage at the 2024 GAS Conference in Berlin, Germany.

2024 SAXE Emerging Artists

PRISCILLA KAR YEE LO

Artist Statement

My work highlights the astute way in which our inherent patriarchal society has a ected the Asian female position within its structure and how it maintains control through cultural and social expectations and normalized gender roles. I employ visual language containing artifacts of patriarchy from her childhood that have since become pop culture icons. The symbolism of these images is far removed from their original medium and their patriarchal foundation, making them easy to manipulate and go undetected while subtly reinforcing social norms and binary systems. The globalization of the iconic Hello Kitty character has an undeniable relationship with the maintenance and propagation of the controlling images of Asian females in the West. Hello Kitty is a recurring image in my work because she is a universally recognizable icon in pop culture that dictate Asian female identity. This is characterized by cuteness, meekness, submissiveness, and a playfulness that can be interpreted as provocative, blurring the line between innocence, vulnerability, infantilization, and sexuality. Stereotypes are not false, rather they are an arrested representation of a changing reality. By employing pop culture icons rooted in systemic patriarchy to highlight the intersectionality of being a minority female, I hope to advance this changing reality. I view this as an act of deﬁance, taking back a symbol of oppression to create a counter narrative that serves to empower Asian females. Ultimately, I view my work as a nostalgic and whimsical, yet mischievous way of documenting where women, particularly immigrant women, are placed within a societally prescribed racial framework. I hope to initiate discourse about this reality to validate our collective experiences and raise awareness of the continual existence of these issues.

Biography

Growing up as a Chinese immigrant taught Priscilla Kar Yee Lo success equated to assimilation and stability. After years as a healthcare worker where she experienced the blunt reality of intersectionality of race and gender, she felt disheartened and turned to artist endeavors to ﬁnd a voice and explore her identity as a minority. She was drawn to glass for its duality, constantly existing in a state of fragility and permanency. She has a Bachelors in Craft and Design from Sheridan College, and her Master of Fine Arts from Illinois State University. Priscilla is currently the Resident Artist at Rochester Institute of Technology.

SADHBH MOWLDS

Artist Statement

Existing in the realm of the uncanny, my work straddles the line between hyper-realism and surrealism to create absurd yet recognisable realities that challenge prevalent and destructive social constructs. My fixation on the human ability to contemplate is at the core of my pursuit, which reveals the absurdity of the beliefs, behaviours and perceptions of our species. As I often approach these themes through the lens of my own frustration and vulnerability as a woman, I explore the phenomenon of consciousness and what it is to be self-aware. Using the body as an emissary, I probe the delicate boundary between our internal and external self, describing the impact societal perceptions of gender roles, value systems and class divides have on our su ering consciousness. This investigation culminates in bizarre, bodily sculptures that emphasise the restrictive bond we have with our flesh and the social situations that come along with it. Existentialist theories, such that of De Beauvoir and Sartre, resonate with my own musings about identity and societal behaviour, fueling the manifestation of my work and providing solace in an upturned, modern society. As a sculptor, material usage and skill-based processes become integral to my practice, in which I sculpt by hand each wrinkle, crease and pore of the skin we are confined within. Working in an array of materials, most notably silicone and glass, I create grotesquely life-like work that begs the viewer's contemplation, while initiating di cult, but critical, conversations.

Biography

Sadhbh Mowlds is visual artist who was born and raised in Dublin. After receiving her BA from the National College of Art and Design, Ireland (2014), she moved to Germany where she worked as a freelance glassblower out of Berlin Glas. In 2019 she moved to the U.S, where she received her MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2022). Recent residencies include the RHA (Dublin, IE), WheatonArts (NJ) and STARworks (NC). Mowlds has participated in numerous international exhibitions, showing throughout Europe and the USA. Her work is included in the permanent collections of Kunstsammulungen Coburg, Germany and the Museum of American Glass, NJ.

ABEGAEL UFFELMAN

Artist Statement

As a glass and mixed media conceptual artist, I relate the physical qualities of my work to societal disparities. I analyze concepts of social interaction, politics, identity, and memory through creating physical objects and installations that others can relate to. Through glass and mixed media objects and installations, I blur, distort, and obscure information, curating how people view these topics. I strive to understand the relationships and connections between others, both intimate and fleeting. Growing up as a transracial, Asian adoptee in a White family has impacted my life in a profound way. My work is a comment on situations my family and I have faced in American society- from personal reflection into adoption records to racial microaggressions. My work spans several topics, recently including the act of lying as a result of experiencing grief and loss. Lies are abundant, inevitable, inescapable, routine, even expected and desired. Infinite. From young to old, perpetrators and victims of lies include every single person in existence. Mirroring the stages of grief, over time I learned to accept what lies are and their function in society. From personal impact to societal expectation and political governance, lies are reality and they are a version of truth. This work is personal, but it extends a universal welcome to those who have felt the pain of loss, or been hurt by systems of power, angered by our status quo.

Biography

Abegael U elman earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in 2019. Her work has been featured and awarded at Bullseye Glass Transitions in Kiln-Glass Exhibition, where she earned ﬁrst place in the emerging artist category, and the Glass Art Society International Student Exhibition in 2019. U elman has been a Visiting Artist at Tyler School of Art and Worcester Center for Craft. In 2023, she completed the Better Together Residency at Pilchuck Glass School. Currently, U elman is the Program Coordinator and an instructor at glass non-proﬁt, Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Art in Minneapolis, MN.

2024 Jurors

Mikkel Hammer Elming

Mikkel Hammer Elming is the director of Glas – Museum of Glass Art in Ebeltoft, Denmark. He has a master’s degree in art history from Aarhus University and specializes in curation of contemporary art. He is a co-creator and former director of the Association for Contemporary Art and the contemporary art center Regelbau 411. At the same time, he has run an independent curatorial practice and was associated with Kunsthal Aarhus as a permanent curator. Elming has been the driving force in the major changes at the museum formerly known as Glasmuseet Ebeltoft. Now under the name Glas, the museum aims to be a leading institution within contemporary glass art internationally.

Dr. Jörg Garbrecht

Dr. Jörg Garbrecht is the director of The Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung. He studied art history at the University of St. Andrews and received his doctorate from Oxford University. He has worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Tate Modern, the National Museum in Berlin, the Nolde Foundation in Seebüll and Berlin, whose branch at the Gendarmenmarkt he established and directed, and the municipal Kunsthalle Mannheim. Most recently, he was senior curator at the Art and Nature Foundation of entrepreneur Susanne Klatten.

Garbrecht curates exhibitions ranging from Art Nouveau to contemporary art and is a guest speaker and author of numerous catalogs and art historical articles. He has diverse experience with new museum buildings, repositioning and dynamizing collections in terms of content, and sustainable destination management. Garbrecht believes that “good art is a sensual and intellectual supercharger that touches and moves us far beyond our immediate encounter in the exhibition space.” His upcoming exhibition on the smartphone will open at The Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung’s BlackBox in April 2024.

2024 Jurors

Luisa Restrepo

Originally from Colombia and currently based in Mexico City where she runs her studio, Luisa Restrepo specializes in warm glass techniques, creating pieces that range from contemporary jewelry to collectible design and performative actions. Restrepo’s artistic practice is characterized by a fervent exploration of form, rhythm, and pattern to produce works that are both essential and ambiguous. She maintains an unwavering commitment to quality and meticulous attention to detail, resulting in ﬁnely crafted pieces that are aesthetically captivating as they are conceptually rich.

She attended Wolverhampton University, England, where she studied Three-Dimensional Design specializing in glass and did her Masters in Design Studies at CENTRO Diseño, Cine y Televisión University in Mexico City, México. She has been part of the North Lands Creative and CGSC residency programs and has taught in di erent schools including Pilchuck Glass School and Urban Glass. She was awarded ﬁrst prize at The Glass Prize, Bullseye Glass Artist, UK; the Bogota Museum of Glass Biennale, Colombia; and by the Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan. Also, she has been a ﬁnalist in the Monterrey Glass Museum Biennale, México; Emerge 2012, US; and Young Glass 2007, Denmark. In the past years, she has been invited to take part in MACO Contemporary Art and Design fair, and Design Week, both in México. Her work has been showcased both nationally and internationally.

Photo Credits

COVER (left to right): Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Breaking Patterns. Hot glass and digitally enhanced nontraditional pate de verre. 6.5” x 7” x 2”, 2023. (Photo: Artist).; Sadhbh Mowlds, Impressionable (detail). mirrored glass; silicone; human hair; foam; jewellery. 18” x 10” x 1’ (Photo: Artist); Abegael U elman, was it a lie. Sheet Glass, Mirror, Paint, Cold Application, 26”x32” (Photo: Artist).

Page 5: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Mirroring BooBoos. Mould blown glass, nontraditional pate de verre, digitally enhanced plastic, hand mirrored ﬁnsh. 5.5”x 4.5” x 12” (each, 3 shown), 2023. (Photo: Katarina Kane ); Page 6: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Chalice and Ciborium Set I (Collaboration with Zach Layhew). Blown, kiln formed, and fused glass, enamel. 12” x 16” x 15”, 2021. and Patricia Kar Yee Lo In Kitty We Trust, Kitty Consumable Series. Gold and silver gilded glass, laser cut acrylic, mixed media. 22” x 36” x 5”, 2022 (Photo: Minh Ha Nguyen); Page 7: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Weapons of Mass Conditioning - Prince of Purrsia, Mirage of Power Series (On-going collaboration with Hoseok Youn). Blown, kiln formed, and fused glass. 16” x 6” x 3”, 2022. (Photo: B. Fortuné); Page 8: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Kitty Constraints, Unbearable Wearable Series. Digitally enhanced glass and bronze. 6” x 6” x 4” each, 2022. (Photo: B. Fortuné); Page 9: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Kitty Constraints Installation, Unbearable Wearable Series. Digitally enhanced glass and bronze, borosilicate chain, bronze wall mount, framed photos, 2022. (Photo: Minh Ha Nguyen) Page 10: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, My Little GroomMe playset, Gilded Memories: Interactive Series. Kiln formed glass, bronze, human hair, mix media. 6” x 4.5” x 6”, 2020. (Photo: B. Fortuné); Page 11: Patricia Kar Yee Lo, Always, with Wings Edition (Maxi, CrimsonTide, MoonTime), My Little GroomMe line. Kiln formed glass, gold, human hair. 6”x4” x7” each, 2022. (Photo: B. Fortuné).

Page 13: Sadhbh Mowlds, Double-Crossed. Blown glass; mirror; silicone; human hair; foam. 15”x 16”x 10”, 2022. (Photo: Artist); Page 14: Sadhbh Mowlds, The Su ering. Silicone; steel; foam; resin; human and yaak hair; hot-sculpted glass; bronze. 52”x 24”x 23”, 2021. (Photo: Artist); Page 15: Sadhbh Mowlds, The Wait. Blown glass; mirror; silicone; human hair; foam. 15”x16”x10”, 2023 (Photo: Artist); Page 16: Sadhbh Mowlds, The Wait (detail). Blown glass; mirror; silicone; human hair; foam. 15”x16”x10”, 2023 (Photo: Artist); Page 17: Sadhbh Mowlds, All Tied Up. Hot mold-blown glass; jute rope. varies upon install, 2022. (Photo: Artist); Page 18: Sadhbh Mowlds, All Tied Up, detail. Hot mold-blown glass; jute rope. varies upon install, 2022. (Photo: Artist); Page 19: Sadhbh Mowlds, Impressionable. Mirrored glass; silicone; human hair; foam; jewellery. 18”x10”x1’ (Photo: Artist)

Page 21: Abegael U elman, Moon, Hyun Kyung. Glass, ink, pate de verre, acetone ink transfer. 48”x11”. (Photo: Sophia Kim); Page 22: Abegael U elman Everyday. Glass, text print, ﬂameworked glass, cold application. 24”x24”. (Photo: Haigen Pearson) Page 23: Abegael U elman. Yellow or White. Glass, paint,bananas, cold application. 10”x10”x10”. (Photo: Sam Fritch) Page 24 + 25: Abegael U elman, Little White Lies. Shaped wire installation. 6’x10’x1’ Page 26: Abegael U elman, was it a lie. Sheet glass, mirror, paint, cold application. 26”x32”. (Photo: Artist); Page 27: Abegael U elman, liar. Mirror, waterjet cut, coldworked. 8”x24”. (Photo: Artist).