UW–Madison connections abound in MOWA glass art exhibition


A number of artists with connections to the UW–Madison Art Department, housed in the School of Education, are part of an exhibition exploring 60 years of Wisconsin glass art at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, Wisconsin.

The exhibition, titled “The Studio Glass Movement: The Hyde Collection,” coincides with the International Year of Glass (2022) and MOWA’s 60th anniversary (2021). It features 39 Wisconsin glass artists and more than 100 pieces, including seminal works by early innovators and ambitious installations by contemporary artists.

A recent article about the exhibit in the Washington County Insider notes that Wisconsin was “front and center at the inception of the Studio Glass movement.”

A glass artwork by Harvey K. Littleton
A glass artwork by Harvey K. Littleton

“Heralded as the founding father of the movement, Harvey K. Littleton built the first glass program at the University of Wisconsin­–Madison in 1962,” the article explains.

Littleton was a faculty member in the UW–Madison Art Department from 1951 to 1976. After he retired, the university recognized Littleton with emeritus status in 1977, and in 2000 the university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree.

Littleton’s “early students became apostles,” the article says, “spreading the gospel of glass as they founded programs across the United States.”

UW­–Madison alumni whose art is included in the exhibit are as follows:

  • Audrey Handler (1967, MA; 1970, MFA)
  • David Huchthausen (1974, BS)
  • Kent Ipsen (deceased; 1965, MA, MFA)
  • Tom McGlauchlin (deceased; 1959, BS; 1960, MA)
  • Karen Eyara Naylor (1986, BS)

In addition, Jeremy Popelka, whose work is also included, was a visiting artist in the UW–Madison Art Department in 2009.

The exhibition is on view through Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Learn more about the exhibit on this MOWA webpage.

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