Works by glass artist Judie Sloan and Clayton “The Wall Guy” Hamilton will showcase their distinct viewpoints in Transparency, an exhibit opening on First Friday, Jun e 3, in the Indiana Landmarks Center’s Rapp Family Gallery. The free reception will take place from 6 to 9 p.m.
Sloan and Hamilton are co-founders of InSight Art, an organization which has been showcasing Indy artists since 2012.
A Chicago native and Herron School of Art alumna, Sloan holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Illinois. Her glasswork embodies a number of glass disciplines. By incorporating such techniques as blowing, casting, slumping, stained glass fusing, metal inclusion, surface painting, and mixed media, Sloan creates glass expressions of her abstract imagination. “Glass is strong yet fragile, malleable yet rigid,” Sloan said. “Its response to temperature and gravity invites me to explore a world of images and possibilities.”
Hamilton is known as “The Wall Guy” because he paints socio-political phrases on eight-foot planks in colors designed to highlight their phrases. The planks are an off-shoot of work he has done for over 30 years on a retaining wall just north of 38th Street and College Avenue. “The work calls attention to the numerous inconsistencies that were born, and are still being fought against, due to enslavement and its heritage of systemic injustice,” Hamilton said.
Though most expect glass to be transparent, Sloan’s work is opaque, obscure and ambiguous, creating complexity through abstract gestures of painting with glass. In contrast, Hamilton’s work is designed to inform the public and be easy to understand, using visualization to be frank, clear, simple, and bold.
Complimentary snacks and beverages will be available. Guests can also tour the Indiana Landmarks Center at 1201 Central Ave. Built as a Methodist church in the 19th century, the restored and adapted structure holds theaters and a reception hall in addition to the gallery and Indiana Landmarks’ headquarters. The exhibit will be on view until July 22.
ARTWORK ABOVE: Judie Sloan uses multiple techniques to create her imaginative glassworks.
