Corey Pemberton Artist Talk/Glass Demo
The Anna Ballarian Visiting Artist Series welcomes Corey Pemberton for a solo exhibition Feb. 7-March 8. Pemberton will visit the RIT campus for an artist talk, studio visits, and glass demonstrations.
Join us in discussing and celebrating the intersection of diversity and identity during an artist talk by Pemberton in Bevier Gallery. Additionally, Pemberton is leading a pair of glass demos in our glass program's Hot Shop (Booth Hall, 3730).
Artist Talk
Tuesday, Feb. 25
5:00 p.m.
Bevier Gallery, RIT Campus, Booth Hall
Parking in lots E/F; free after 5:00 p.m.
Free/All Welcome
Glass Hot Shop Demos
Thursday, Feb. 27
11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No