Art is a Tool for Empowerment and Education

Like all exhibits in the Community Exhibition, this work will respond and evolve through time. The entrance to Statom’s exhibit is a giant glass wall that will remain at KANEKO semi-permanently to designate our newly expanded education space, but even that massive structure will change; the colors, found objects, and stories within will be moved, replaced or added. 

Therman Statom is a pioneer in the contemporary glass art movement, a longtime friend of Ree and Jun Kaneko, a KANEKO board member, and a social activist. Much of the latter half of his career has been focused on the importance of educational programming within the arts. Statom has taken a deep interest in employing workshops as a catalyst for social change and, in effect, positively impacting a community. This exhibit displays a variety of his new and historical work, but the greater story is this catalyst as a dynamic and powerful movement for social justice. 

“I feel that art is a tool for empowerment and education. It’s also a viable tool to investigate positive change and engage a culture through the use of exploration.” – Therman Statom

About Therman Statom

Therman Statom – sculptor, glass artist, and painter – is most notably known as a pioneer of the contemporary glass movement for his life-size glass ladders, chairs, tables, constructed box-like paintings, and small scale houses; all created through the technique of gluing glass plates together. Sandblasted surfaces become a canvas for spontaneous vibrant colors and line work, which take nuances from Abstract Expressionism and concepts of Minimalism, while simultaneously incorporating a twist by using blown-glass elements and found objects. 

Born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1953, Statom spent his adolescence growing up in Washington, D.C. His interest in the arts grew from a fondness of painting and he began to investigate ceramics at RISD. However, after an experimental glass blowing session with Dale Chihuly, he was soon hooked on the spontaneity of glass blowing and its limitless possibilities. Statom went on to pursue studies at Pilchuck Glass School during its inaugural year, completing a BFA in 1974 from RISD, and later studied at the Pratt Institute of Art & Design.