Felicia Leroy + Carolyn Spears

Six exhibits this month celebrate 60 years of UW-Madison’s glass program. Running through Oct. 22 at the Art Lofts, 111 N. Frances St., are “The Sixth Decade of UW Glass,” “Flameworking,” and work from Tom Zickuhr, lecturer in neon (an opening reception for these exhibits takes place from 7:30-9:30 p.m., Oct. 6). “Research and Outreach” at the School of Education Gallery runs through Oct. 17, with an opening reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m., Oct. 6. “Absolute Zero,” featuring the work of Felicia LeRoy and Carolyn Spears, runs through Nov. 17 at the main gallery at the UW Memorial Union; artist talks take place from 5-7 p.m., Oct. 5. And from Oct. 6-20, the 7th floor gallery of the Humanities Building hosts glass works from 18 artists from collegiate programs nationwide (reception 6:30-8:30 p.m., Oct. 6). It’s a deep dive into where the UW’s glass program is right now. Find more info at glasslab.art.wisc.edu.

media release: Glass Madison 2023 - 2024

The UW-Madison Glass Lab is one of UW’s treasured “firsts”—the first collegiate glass program in the nation. 2022 marked the sixtieth anniversary of this seminal narrative. In 2023-2024, the UW Glass Lab presents Glass Madison—a year-long celebration of the sixth decade of this history, composed of Exhibitions, a Symposium, and Public Programs.

Absolute Zero

Memorial Union Gallery | 800 Langdon Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

September 29 - November 17, 2023. Gallery talks 5-7 pm, 10/5.

“Absolute zero” refers to the basis of the Kelvin temperature scale—the theoretical extreme of the lowest temperature possible. This exhibition features Felicia LeRoy (UW-Madison BFA 2014, RISD MFA 2017) and Carolyn Spears (U. of Louisville BFA 2015, UW-Madison MFA 2024 Candidate), whose expertise in some of the hottest material on earth is paired with their subject matter, which addresses extremes in human and geological experiences via the glass-like substance of ice.

LeRoy’s works are often elemental in nature, often using glass to mimic water or ice. Her body is also employed as an index of breath—both via its limitations in water, and thus an expanded notion of body as breath as wind.

Spears’ work is an investigation of time, materials, and mortality. In her work, ice—and its ability to transform, fracture, obfuscate, record, and vanish—demonstrates the precarity of existence. It represents the inevitability of losing time. Ice operates as a metaphor for grief, asking viewers to contend with their impermanence by calling into question natural phenomena that shape existence.

This exhibition is curated by Helen Lee and presented by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Art Committee.