Exhibit by glass master Gene Koss inspired by NOLA

From a Distance, Photo by Owen Murphy

Inspired by views of the Crescent City and the rural Wisconsin landscapes of his youth, Tulane University glass professor Gene Koss has crafted sculptures from cast-glass forms and found or fabricated steel for his latest exhibition at Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans.

With sculptures ranging from small-scale pedestal works of glass, steel and found objects, to monumental pieces, some weighing several tons, the exhibit “From a Distance” will be on view through Feb. 27 at the gallery, 432 Julia St.

“My goal has been to make glass fine art, not craft,” Koss says. “I use glass as a medium of pure sculptural expression resulting in monumental sculptures of cast glass, steel and light.”

The signature sculpture titled From a Distance was inspired “by this city I’ve loved for 40 years,” says Koss, who travels frequently across the Crescent City Connection bridge from his studio in Plaquemines Parish.  

“The view of the city from the bridge is amazing and inspirational — the architecture, the movement of the water in the river, the way the light reflects off the buildings, the ships and barges traveling up and down the Mississippi,” he says. “The cantilever of the sculpture addresses the precarious feeling of being suspended over the river.”

Koss leads the glass program in the Newcomb Art Department and is teaching courses to both undergraduate and graduate students this semester. This video shows Koss and students at work in the Pace-Willson Glass Studio.

His work has been exhibited at the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans; the Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, Louisiana; the Sculpture Center in New York City; and the International Biennale for Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy. His work is in many prominent collections including the Pan American Life Collection in New Orleans and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

[Tulane New Wave, January 8, 2016]

'Adventuring with the image’ defines Aaron Collier’s art

Artist, alumnus and assistant professor Aaron Collier works to develop images that engage viewers in his colorful paintings. The Tulane University community will have a chance to view Collier’s works when the Carroll Gallery opens a solo exhibit of his paintings on Jan. 12.

Entitled “Something There,” the exhibit runs through Feb. 5. To celebrate the opening, a reception is planned for Jan. 14 from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m., with a walk through with the artist at 6 p.m.

[read more >>> Tulane New Wave, January 7, 2016]

Taking risks in sculpture

Emily Hermant, who joined the faculty this semester as an assistant professor of sculpture, seeks to inspire students in the Sculpture Foundry in the Woldenberg Art Center on the Tulane University uptown campus. New digital art tools were a gift from New Orleans resident Louis Jung, in honor of his mother, Harriett Tolar Jung, a 1940 Newcomb College graduate who majored in painting.

read more... Tulane New Wave 10.09.15
(Photo by Ryan Rivet)

Unusual inspirations make fascinating art

Discarded folded paper road maps, recycled food cans and other “found” objects that evoke memories — these are the inspirations for five artists featured in the “Expanded Media” exhibition on view now through Sept. 24 at the Carroll Gallery on the Tulane University uptown campus.

When curator Laura Richens started planning the exhibit at the gallery, which is in the exhibition space of the Newcomb Art Department in the Woldenberg Art Center, she searched for “something visually exciting” and found it in the works by artists Anita Cooke, Sadie Sheldon, Nikki Rosato, Mark Grote and Rontherin Ratliff.

“I want to challenge our students and audience to think outside the parameters of traditional artistic media, and to see that there is a wide range of media that can be used in visual art,” Richens said. 

Carroll Gallery hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. 

[Carol Schlueter, Tulane New Wave, September 14, 2015] 

Art Therapy: photos from Jeffrey Stenbom's gallery talk

Army veteran Jeffrey Stenbom, center, speaks to visitors about To Those Who Have, a kiln-cast glass, acrylic and vinyl-coated steel cable sculpture, during a tour of his MFA exhibit, “Thank You,” at the Carroll Gallery on Friday (March 6) on the Tulane University uptown campus. Creating art helps Stenbom cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. The show honors soldiers and the sacrifices they make to preserve freedom.

Mary Silva and Emily Acker stand on two of several kiln-cast glass slabs, titled Endless Imprint, scattered throughout the main gallery. The slabs were designed to resemble the base of traditional toy soldiers. Bootprints on the slabs were made from Stenbom’s combat boots and from the boots of fellow soldiers. Visitors are encouraged to stand on the slabs.

Everlasting Impact, also cast from Stenbom’s boots, stands alone in the back right gallery. The mirrored display case reflects the boots, multiplying them into the distance.

[photos: Paula Burch-Celentano, Tulane New Wave, March 9, 2015]

Aficionado

[photo by Ryan Rivet, Tulane New Wave, March 2, 2015]

Coco Zhang, a sophomore at Tulane University majoring in art history, takes time between classes to view the Newcomb Art Gallery exhibit featuring the work of Edgar Degas.

The exhibition, “Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist,” runs until May 24 and features drawings, prints and photographs by and relating to Degas. 

The show also features works by friends and contemporaries of the artist, including Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Gustave Moreau, Alfred Stevens and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

The Art of the Entrepreneur: Tulane's New Wave features Art History alumnus

Birds aren’t the only ones that fly south for winter. Sam Barron and his food truck, the Fat Shallot, also have migrated down to the warmth of New Orleans. 

With its stacked BLTs and other gourmet-style sandwiches, the Fat Shallot has nested in and around the city’s Central Business District, an area that Barron said is “much more enjoyable” to serve in the frigid winter months than Chicago, where both Barron and the food truck call home.

“Food truck life is kind of stressful, but kind of fun in the summer,” Barron said, “But the winter just took all the fun out of it, because the water freezes and the propane freezes.” 

For Barron, a 2005 Tulane University graduate, coming to New Orleans feels like second nature. “I have split my time since I was 18 between New Orleans and Chicago,” he said.

Standing in the ample shade of the truck, immersed in the smells of grilled cheeses and braised pork, Barron reminisced on his time at Tulane.

He was an art history major known as “the cook” among friends, who would grill pork tenderloins instead of frozen burgers at backyard dinner parties. After graduation, Barron attended culinary school and then went on to work for three- and four-star restaurants before partnering with his wife Sarah Weitz in the food truck business.  

While in New Orleans with the Fat Shallot, Barron finds that it’s “great to be a Tulane alumnus” because his customers see him as a part of the local community. With a 60 percent customer return rate, Barron is solidifying his relationship with New Orleans as his kind of home away from home.

“There are a lot of similarities between eaters in Chicago and New Orleans: they’re both heavy-duty, serious-eater cities,” he said. “People aren’t afraid of something hardy and spicy and flavorful.”

story by Samah Ahmed, photo by Ryan Rivet, Tulane New Wave, February 23, 2015

Morning light sparks creativity in the Printmaking Studio

Graduate student Imen Djouini creates silk screen prints on Monday morning (Feb. 2) on the third floor of the Woldenberg Art Center on the Tulane University uptown campus. 

Djouini is preparing for her MFA exhibition in March.



[Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano]