Events Calendar

PITTSBURGH, PA – October 28, 2014 – Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) was invited to present its 2014 Biennial exhibition at the Sculpture Objects Functional Art + Design (SOFA) Fair in Chicago from November 6 - 9, 2014. This is the first time PGC has participated in this annual art fair that attracts over 30,000 people.  
 
At SOFA, Pittsburgh Glass Center will show a smaller version of its Biennial exhibition featuring the work of 12 Pittsburgh artists who participated in the Idea Furnace program including:  Robert Beckman, Jeremy Boyle, Melissa Fitzgerald, Jason Forck, Toby Fraley, Vanessa German, Ashley McFarland, Juliet Pusateri, Travis Rohrbaugh, Will Schlough, Kara Skylling and Margaret Spacapan. The art ranges from screen-printed glass imagery and text to a whimsical science experiment in glass.

Several of the artists will present a panel discussion titled "Idea Furnace: Building Bridges and Breaking the Rules" on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 12:30 - 1:30pm. They will discuss the creative potential of collaboration and exchange achieved through the Idea Furnace. 

"We've dreamed about participating in SOFA for many years. We jumped at the unexpected opportunity to introduce our talented artists from Pittsburgh to the rest of the world. It's exciting to think about presenting an exhibition among the best art galleries in the world," said Pittsburgh Glass Center Executive Director Heather McElwee. 

ABOUT SOFA
SOFA CHICAGO, the world-renowned art fair dedicated to Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art & Design returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall November 7 - 9, with an Opening Night Preview on Nov. 6. Celebrating its 21st year, SOFA Chicago is the longest continuously running, gallery-presented art fair in the city of Chicago, and the world’s foremost fair dedicated to masterworks of contemporary art and design in all media including glass, ceramics, wood, fiber and metal. During the past two decades, SOFA Chicago has grown to attract more than 30,000 visitors every year and exhibitors from the U.S. and around the world.  For more information, please visit www.sofaexpo.com

ABOUT THE BIENNIAL
Seven artists stepped out of their comfort zone and into the glass studio for the 2014 Pittsburgh Biennial this year at PGC. The first-time experimental exhibition showcased new art created by seven well-known Pittsburgh artists with no glass experience working in collaboration with five local glass artists.

The Biennial is an expanded version of PGC’s Idea Furnace, an experimental design program and residency to connect non-glass artists with glass artists and encourage exploration in other art forms. The PGC program was created in 2012 to bridge the gap between glass and other art and design media. The goal is to educate artists about glass, give them access to the material and help them advance their ideas in a new media.

Support was provided by the Jack and Tally McKee Memorial Fund and the Belle Richards Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER
Glass Art: We teach it. We create it. We promote it. We support those who make it. Pittsburgh Glass Center is a nonprofit, public access glass school, gallery and state-of-the-art studio. Visit us in Pittsburgh's East End at 5472 Penn Avenue, two blocks west of the Penn & Negley Avenue intersection or visit us online at www.pittsburghglasscenter.org