Comprised of hundreds of objects fabricated using multiple glass processes, Between Seeing and Knowing is a large-scale, site-specific installation by artists Anna Boothe and Nancy Cohen. Created as part of a Collaborative Residency that took place at the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass in 2012, the artwork has been exhibited at Accola Griefen Gallery, Philadelphia Art Alliance, and Philadelphia’s International Airport. The installation will be presented at Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass from October 8, 2022 – February 5, 2023.
At its core, Between Seeing and Knowing is the result of both artists’ long-standing interest in and in-depth study of Tibetan Buddhist thangka paintings and the integration of their otherwise very separate studio practices. Thangkas are ordered cosmological paintings, often scrolls, created for the purpose of meditation and composed of numerous visual elements. This installation reinterprets the symbolism in the paintings to create new work that reflects the organizational structure and palette of the paintings, as well as the sense of expansiveness and lack of hard resolution characteristic of Buddhist ideology.
Overall, through this collaboration, its subject matter, and our chosen methodology, we seek to understand, both visually and viscerally, another cultural perspective or expression unlike our own, through our dissection and re-assemblage of elements unique to that culture. Just as collaboration brings forth the opportunity for a deep exchange of ideas and the development of sympathetic approaches to doing what one does, pragmatically and metaphorically, this is our attempt at bridging gaps between cultural approaches to explain the unexplainable.
“Between Seeing and Knowing takes as a starting point the artists’ long-standing interest in and in-depth study of Tibetan Buddhist thangka paintings,” which contain numerous symbols and pictures but flow together into one whole experience – a reflection of our inter-connectedness.
January 5, 12, 19, 26
Schedule:
Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass is home to many beautiful glass treasures, including paperweights, sculpture, and Germanic drinking vessels. On from December 23rd through June 16th in the Museum’s Blue Gallery, Under The Sea: Marine Life in Glass, showcases fourteen works of art in which artists have found their muse in the flora and fauna of the world’s oceans. Works featuring fish, kelp, turtles, and water-loving birds by artists including Janet Kelman, Colin Richardson, Josh Simpson, Rick Ayotte, and factories such as Caithness and Perthshire will be on exhibit.
Did you know that the first paperweight Evangeline Bergstrom collected was an antique Baccarat from 1847? It was by chance that she found herself in an antiques show in Florida while satisfying her interest in stamp collecting. The paperweight reminded her of a weight that belonged to her grandmother more than fifty years prior. In fact, Mrs. Bergstrom didn’t start collecting paperweights until she was 63 years old! In this exhibition located in the Mabel R. McClanahan Memorial Study Gallery, take a journey into the past and examine antique French paperweights that Mrs. Bergstrom – or her contemporaries – would have collected. Learn about characteristic hallmarks of lampwork, millefiori and sulphide paperweights from the big three factories of St. Louis, Clichy and Baccarat as well as Pantin and St. Mande. Who knows what exciting discoveries you will make?
As a center for extraordinary glass experiences, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass offers unique discoveries to ignite creativity, spark fun, and cultivate learning for all. We are pleased to exhibit glass art made by area high school students in this, the 2023 Fox Valley Area High School Glass Exhibition. After creating glass art in the classroom, and in the museum glass studio, students have the opportunity to share their work in this public setting. Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass strives to expose the community to the versatility of glass while encouraging the creativity of talented young artists in the area with this annual exhibit. The 2023 Fox Valley Area High School Glass Exhibition and Glass Experience Days are supported in part by Chilton Area Community Foundation Fund within the Chilton Area Community Foundation and the Lilian Noble Memorial Fund.