Jones Visual Arts Center hosts Stephen Rolfe Powell memorial exhibition
Glass works from eight alumni are now on display at the Jones Visual Arts Center. “A Legacy in Glass: 2000-2022” is on exhibit in the AEGON Art Gallery at JVAC and will be on display through Saturday, Oct. 16. There will be an exhibit reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday as part of Centre College’s Homecoming 2022 festivities.
The exhibition features work from students who learned under world renowned artist Stephen Rolfe Powell ‘74 at Centre College. The exhibit honors Powell’s legacy both as a 37-year professor at the College, as well as his own career as a preeminent glass artist.
“We wanted an exhibit in our gallery that was specific to younger alumni,” said Amy Frederick, associate professor of art history and chair of the art history/studio art program. “Everyone involved was incredibly excited to have all of these student works together. We have Stephen’s work in the middle of the exhibit, as if he’s surrounded by his students.
“The alumni were incredibly excited to participate, they all speak so highly of their mentor and teacher. It’s very special.”
Powell will also be honored through the Stephen Rolfe Powell Memorial, scheduled to be dedicated on the Norton Center lawn on Oct. 15.
“Our exhibition at JVAC shows you the many different ways that glass is an art form and the many ways you can explore that as a practicing artist,” Frederick said. “We hear about Stephen’s legacy as an artist, but this show celebrates his legacy as a teacher, how much he influenced his students and how many of them continue to work in glass.”
Featured alumni in the exhibit include:
- Travis Adams ’14, a glass artist and maker from Lexington, Kentucky, was the lead assistant for Powell for several years and went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture with a concentration in glass from Illinois State University. Adams’ current studio is Trifecta: Glass – Art – Lounge in Lexington.
- Santiago Aguilera ‘22
- Adam Haigh ’08 worked for Apple before returning to Danville as the studio glass technician. Haigh served as Powell’s glass assistant for his personal work for three years before moving to Flame Run in Louisville in 2018.
- Mollie Hansen ’16 currently resides in Seattle, Washington, working as an artist and glass instructor. Hansen earned her bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history.
- Kayla Ohlmer ’14 is currently the program director at Tulsa Glassblowing School in Oklahoma. Ohlmer graduated with a B.A. in studio art and worked as a studio assistant at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio in Virginia.
- Samuel Spees ’16 was a football player at Centre, where he was drawn to the “sport” of glassblowing. Spees says the pursuit of “perfection” is why he’s drawn to glass as a process, as well as it being the foundation of his inspiration as an artist.
- Eric Theodore ’15, a figurative artist who works primarily in oil paint, explores the art of figure painting and glassblowing together. Theodore moved to Texas for an artist-in-residence program after graduation from Centre, and, for the past six years ,has taught art in Texas. He currently resides in Laguna Beach, California, where he is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree at the Laguna College of Art and Design, with a concentration in painting.
- Alex Ward ’17, from Murray, Kentucky, graduated with a B.A. in studio arts with an emphasis on studio glass under Powell’s tutelage. Ward has continued his education in glass through his experience as a production gaffer at Pretentious Glass Co. in Tennessee. His work is shown in galleries across the Appalachian area.
