Ben Orozco's "Tropic V."
The future of neon at UW-Madison is looking bright. Over the weekend of April 20, students in the prestigious UW-Madison neon program — one of only a handful in the country — will be joining 45 neon artists from around the country for a biennial show titled Balance.
“For many people, neon is advertising, but in the hands of a creative, it becomes so much more,” says show organizer and UW lecturer Tom Zickuhr, who teaches neon glasswork at the UW-Madison Glass Lab. “When you combine glass, rare gas and electricity, it’s easy to see the beauty in neon — the artist is literally catching lightning in a bottle.”
Although plenty of professional neon work will be on display, the event also serves a showcase for students, whose work makes up 60 percent of Balance. A few highlights include Cameron Bratz’s “Rings,” which is a tapering cut of natural wood encasing a series of bright neon circles, and “He Loves Me Not” from Alyssa Ackerman, which displays the work’s title, stark and fragile in glowing red light.
The show, which takes place at the UW Stock Pavilion, includes students from Alfred University in New York (known for ceramics and glass programs) and the Chicago Institute of Art. Pieces from traditional sign makers will stand alongside expressive work crafted by glass-based artists, showcasing the range of glass forms.
Tom Zickuhr's "Balance."
Former glass department chair Steve Feren began the school’s neon program in 1988 and held the first biennial show two years lateron Bascom Hill. Now that Feron is retired, Zickuhr is taking up the task.
Zickuhr also owns and operates Neon Lab on Madison’s east side (and has created neon signage for local businesses, including Wando’s and Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry).
Some artists are celebrating the show’s return to the Stock Pavilion after recent iterations at the Madison Children’s Museum (in 2015) and outdoors along Library Mall (2004). The last Stock Pavilion show was in 2013. Zickuhr says the move back was made for practical, space-related reasons, but the Stock Pavilion imbues the show with a healthy dose of quirky Midwestern charm. The immense space (which has to be entirely bleach-cleaned prior to the show) will underscore the shimmering lights of Balance, allowing viewers to experience neon from a wholly new perspective. The event will feature music both nights.
Because the pavilion provides little natural wall space, pieces in the show will be displayed freestanding, which is unusual for neon work. It’s a challenge for some artists, including UW senior Ben Orozco, who will display multiple pieces in the showcase.
“Neon loves to be wall-mounted, so I’ve learned you sort of have to have one foot in sculpture as well,” Orozco says. “It’s really interesting when you put a piece in space; it’s more interactive. You get to see all the nice parts, but also the weird plumbing and everything else going on.”
