The Anna Ballarian Visiting Artist Series welcomes Corey Pemberton for a solo exhibition February 7 - March 8, 2025. Pemberton will visit the RIT campus for an artist talk, studio visits, and glass demonstrations.

Exhibition:
February 7 - March 8, 2025

Artist Talk:
Tuesday, February 25
5:00 PM
Bevier Gallery, RIT Campus, Booth Hall
Parking in lots E/F; free after 5:00 PM
Free // All Welcome

Glass Hot Shop Demonstrations:
Thursday, February 27
11:00 am & 2:00 pm
Booth Hall 3730 (Glass Hot Shop)
Free // All Welcome; drop in/come and go

As a queer person of mixed race, Corey Pemberton often feels other. Knowing nothing about his African roots and very little about his European heritage, the artist considers lineage and the idea of connectedness in his glass art, paintings, and other works on paper. Pemberton’s vessels, blown glass baskets based on those of his presumed ancestors, are made in a European style that borrows forms and patterns from the sweetgrass weavers of South Africa. He says: “I use color and pattern as vehicles to describe situations where society has used a person’s uniqueness against them; where people have been labeled or categorized based on physical characteristics in an effort to hold them back. Can we, as a society, find a way to unite in our otherness?”

Born in Reston, Virginia and currently residing in Los Angeles, Pemberton splits time between production glassblowing, his painting practice, and Crafting the Future (CTF), an organization he co-founded with furniture artist Annie Evelyn in early 2019. CTF partners with organizations across the country such as Louisiana’s Young Aspirations/Young Artists, known as YAYA; Kentucky’s STEAM Exchange; North Carolina’s Penland School of Craft; and Maine’s Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, with the goal of increasing access to education and opportunity for underrepresented artists in order to help them develop thriving careers. In 2019, CTF raised more than $8,000 to send two young New Orleans students, Tyrik Conaler and Shanti Broom, to Penland School of Craft. 

Pemberton's exhibition and visit to RIT is made possible by the Anna Ballarian Visiting Artist Series.