Sean Donlon by Page Bond Gallery

SEAN D O N LO N

SEAN D O N LO N AVAILABLE WORKS APRIL 2022

PAGE BOND GALLERY RICHMOND, VA 2322O P: (804) 359 3633

SEAN DONLON Biography Since the first day he melted glass into a clear marble, Sean Donlon has been drawn to the challenges of glass manipulation. Donlon earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012. He has traveled all over the United States and internationally to Lauscha, Germany and Murano, Italy to study lost techniques in glass, and to work with other glass artists. Among his distinguished honors, Donlon was the recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts fellowship, was awarded Best in Show at Craft + Design, was featured in American Craft Magazine, Home&Design Magazine, and recently received the Smithsonian’s New Direction – Excellence in Design, of the Future award. Donlon’s work has been exhibited in the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Chrysler Museum, and several galleries throughout the United States. He is currently living and working in Richmond, Virginia. Artist Statement We are surrounded daily by functional objects; beauty everywhere is easily overlooked when it is hidden in plain view. Obsession with this practical object turned into an opportunity to make a new sense of the world. The teapot became a symbol in my eyes, one that could be recognized by all people. Throughout history, teapots have been used as a canvas for expression through their maker or utilizer. This makes the teapot a greater symbol — one that can connect everyone on the principle of taking a moment to wind down, interact, tell stories, or internally reflect. I use flameworking, a glassblowing technique, to create these teapots. Within the manipulation of glass and fire, a unique vessel is born. This inanimate object becomes vibrant and alive when juxtaposed in a foreign environment; every teapot manifests its own personality in these installations. Reflecting light off of each other and playing with their environment, these teapots, in every viewing angle, become their own story.

Opposite Page: Top Middle Bottom (Detail), 2019

Cube, 2019 Mirrored Glass 15 x 17 x 17 inches $20,000

Sphere, 2020 Mirrored Glass 12 x 18 x 18 inches $7,000

Top Middle Bottom, 2019 Mirrored Glass 13 x 13 x 4 inches $15,000 ($5000 each) 16 x 16 x 4 ($6000 each) 19 x 19 x 4 ($7000 each)

SEAN DONLON Abbreviated CV

Education 2012

Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA B.F.A Craft and Material Studies

Professional Experience 2021 Bulthaup Collaboration, Washington DC 2020 Glass Act, featured article in Home & Design Magazine 2019 Flameworking Instructor, Penland School of Crafts NC Art for Alzheimer’s Benefit Auction, Richmond VA 37th Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington DC American Craft Show, Baltimore MD / San Francisco CA 2018 - 19 Winter Residency – Penland NC 2018 - 17 Material Matters, featured article in American Craft Magazine Flameworking and Hotglass Teacher in the Department of Craft and Materials Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA Capital One Permanent Art Collection — Richmond, VA Demo at 2017 GAS Conference — Norfolk, VA Collectors’ Night Artist, Visual Art Center — Richmond VA 2016 Craft & Design — Richmond, VA “Toast” VCU Donation — Richmond, VA Chrysler Museum Permanent Art Collection — Norfolk, VA Collectors’ Night Artist, Visual Art Center — Richmond VA 2015 Quirk Hotel Permanent Art Collection — Richmond VA Collectors’ Night Artist, Visual Art Center — Richmond, VA 2014 Teacher Assistant at Oxbow for C. Potter glass class 2013 Studio Tech Assistant, Chrysler Museum of Art — Norfolk, VA Founder/Technician of Mule Barn Craft Studio, collaborative workspace — Richmond VA 2012 Transportation of artwork for De La Torre Brothers from Penland, NC to Chrysler Museum of Art — Norfolk, VA Demo at Chrysler Museums Glass Studio — Norfolk, VA 2011 Studied Glass Eye Prosthetics in Lauscha, Germany with Walter Hellbach (3rd generation glass eye maker) Selected Awards 2019 2017 2016 2016 2013 2012 2012

Smithsonian – New Direction, Excellence in Design of the Future Award VCU 25 Years of Service Award Commission — Richmond, VA Best in Show Award, Craft & Design — Richmond, VA New Glass Review 37 Corning Museum Publication Chrysler Museum of Art, Traveler Assistant Scholarship recipient — Norfolk, VA Glass Art Society Student Scholarship, 42nd GAS Conference — Toledo, OH Dean’s Scholarship, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA

2012 Dean’s International Study Grant to Lauscha, Germany, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA 2012–13 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship — Richmond, VA 2012 NICHE Awards Finalist, Glass Sculpture 2010–11 Undergraduate Student Research Grant for Glass Eye Prosthetics, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA Select Exhibitions 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

“Hello There” Quirk Gallery — Charlottesville VA “Glean” Page Bond Gallery — Richmond VA “47th International Glass Invitational Awards Exhibit” Habatat Gallery — Detroit MI “Art Nigh Exhibition” Washington Project for the Arts — Washington DC “East Austin Studio Tour” Metropolitan Gallery — Austin TX “Solo Exhibition” Quirk Gallery — Richmond VA “Bling it out” Iridian Gallery — Richmond VA “Glass National” Workhouse — Lorton VA “Art Night” Washington Project for the Arts — Washington DC “Glow-Glimmer-Shine-Sparkle” Page Bond Gallery — Richmond, VA “New Waves” Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art — Virginia Beach, VA “Pocket Museum“ Houston Center for Contemporary Craft — Houston, TX “Tea Halo” Chrysler Museum of Art — Norfolk, VA “Dream House Remix” Peninsula Fine Arts Center — Newport News, VA “Teapots 11th Invitational” Morgan Glass Gallery — Pittsburgh, PA “Tea Rhythm” Slover Library — Norfolk, VA “Breaking Barriers” Visual Arts Center — Portsmouth, VA “The Path Flows Through a Teapot” Strohl Art Center — Chautauqua, NY “Young and Artful” Visual Art Center — Richmond, VA “Rhythm” Gallery 5 — Richmond, VA “Mapping the Next Generation” The Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center — Portsmouth, VA “Teapots” Quirk Gallery — Richmond, VA “Heat Bend Repeat” FAB Gallery – Richmond VA Chrysler Museum Glass Studio, solo exhibition, Vestibule 102 — Norfolk, VA “Dreamscapes: Art and Design” Ghostprint Gallery — Richmond, VA “Good things happen to bad people” Mule Barn Craft Studios — Richmond, VA “Grand Point Weird” Burlington Vermont “GLASS: A Juried Art Show” Minnetrista Gallery, Juror: Katherine Gray — Muncie, IN “Shell as an Abode” Quirk Gallery Vault Solo Exhibition, Richmond, VA Buyers’ Market of American Craft, Niche Awards Finalist Display — Philadelphia, PA Riverviews Gallery 3rd Annual Juried Show — Lynchburg, VA VMFA Repurpose Slide Slam — Richmond, VA

Select Collections Capital One Services Chrysler Museum Quirk Hotell VCU

SEAN DONLON

Catalog Design Registrar Kirsten Hemrich

Published April 2022 Sphere, 2020 (Cover)