A community mural and a Beltzhoover native’s work are among the many exhibitions and events connected with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference March 14-17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.
“Sharif Bey: Dialogues in Clay and Glass” opens Friday at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, 5472 Penn Avenue, Garfield. An artist’s reception will be held from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. March 15.
Mr. Bey is an associate professor of art education at Syracuse University. In November, his work will be featured in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum during the 2018 Renwick Invitational.
He grew up in Beltzhoover and learned about clay as a teenager at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild on the North Side. Mr. Bey holds a bachelor’s degree in ceramics from Slippery Rock University, a master’s degree in studio art from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate in art education from Penn State University. While a doctoral student he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and conducted research on post-socialist art education reforms at The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia.
One of his trademark series comprises oversized clay necklace forms that reference notions of power, ornamentation and natural history associated with traditional African jewelry. African slaves produced beads thought to have been connected to slave barter systems, and in the 1960s beads emerged as political symbols.
Mr. Bey has said that juxtaposing this history with images and values reflected in bling-bling culture generates questions regarding social responsibility vs. social status, tradition vs. trend and wealth vs. power.
Mr. Bey recently participated in the center’s Idea Furnace residency program, which supports artists working outside the medium of glass by providing opportunity to create a body of work with the help of an established glass artist.
This exhibition comprises work from the residency including large-scale clay necklace wall hangings and a new series of necklace forms made of large glass beads. The exhibition continues through May 6. Hours are 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Friday through Monday. Admission is free.
For more nformation, please visit pittsburghglasscenter.org or call 412-365-2145.
