Richard Jolley
American, born 1952
Building and maintaining a glass studio in Knoxville since 1975, Richard Jolley has participated in over 65 solo museum and gallery exhibitions throughout the country as well as Europe and Japan
Richard’s deep ties to Tennessee are clearly visible in his work, which is innovative from a technical point of view, but classic in its form and traditional in its narrative.
Despite his American origins and his being both an artist and a craftsman, Jolley never made his own the style of the Studio Glass Movement. He has always maintained a certain distance and a clear independence – qualities that instead have placed him much closer to European artists.
In his various series – Busts (1990-1994), Torsos (1994-96), Totems (1994-2001) and Tabula Rasa (2001-2002) – the solemnity and simplicity of the human figure united to the severity and hardness of the lines that suggest movement recall the ancient Greek kouroi, besides pointing to more recent European artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti and Constantin Brancusi, who undoubtedly inspired Jolley.
July 8, 2009 (Knoxville, TN) – The Knoxville Museum of Art has commissioned sculptor Richard Jolley to create a permanent installation in glass and metal for the walls of the museum’s Great Hall. The as-yet-untitled work is the gift of Ann and Steve Bailey, longtime supporters of the KMA. Steve Bailey is a former KMA board chair.
Sculptor Richard Jolley, celebrated nationally and internationally primarily for his achievements in glass, lives and works in Knoxville. He has been the subject of numerous one-person exhibitions around the country, and his works are collected by art museums, corporations, and individuals throughout the United States and in Germany and Japan. The museum’s Great Hall, used for community events and educational programs, measures approximately 100 x 40 feet. Jolley’s work is expected to cover most of the upper walls of this monumental space. According to KMA Executive Director David Butler, “This is a transformative gift for the KMA, and we are grateful to Ann and Steve Bailey for providing this unparalleled opportunity for the museum and for the artist. The project imposes tremendous technical and aesthetic challenges, and will result in the one of the largest and most significant sculptural glass works anywhere.” He adds that that “this signature artwork by Richard Jolley, in one of the city’s grandest spaces, enhances the landmark status of the museum building.” The KMA was designed by renowned American architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and opened to the public in 1990. The project is expected to take three to four years to complete. Design is still in its initial phases, and no starting date for fabrication and installation has been set.
The Knoxville Museum of Art serves East Tennessee with outstanding exhibitions and educational programs. The museum is located in downtown Knoxville at 1050 World’s Fair Park.
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