LAYO BRIGHT RECEIVES RON DESMETT MEMORIAL AWARD FOR IMAGINATION WITH GLASS
Layo Bright received the 2023 Ron Desmett Memorial Award for Imagination with Glass. This annual award given by Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) recognizes artists who think outside of the box, practice curiosity, and take risks to create unique, imaginative works in glass. It is in honor of PGC's late cofounder Ron Desmett who was an artist who eschewed conventions and promoted idea over technique. Bright is interested in incorporating African design techniques and symbolism into her glass sculptures, which merge her background as a Nigerian woman with the techniques of glass sculpting.
Bright is a multimedia sculptor living and working in Brooklyn, NY. She will receive a $2,500 cash award and time in PGC’s studios to create a new body of glass works that explore narratives and material cultures of the African diaspora and Black feminism. Bright plans to create figurative hollow vessel sculptures with blow molds, and face-size glass masks of family members and her close community members inspired by traditional African masks. Each piece will utilize different glass-making techniques such as casting, slumping, and fusing. The sculptures will vary in size and shape and will include intricate details such as flora and relief symbols.
"I am interested in the properties of glass, and how this material can be used to convey themes of resilience, transparency, reflection, fragility, and transformation. One of the key features of glass that I hope to explore further and emphasize in my practice is the idea of transparency. Glass is a material that is often associated with transparency and clarity, and I believe that these qualities can be used to convey a sense of openness and opportunities for light to play an active role in the transformation of the sculptures. By creating sculptures that are multi-layered and complex, I hope to convey a sense of depth and nuance, inviting viewers to consider the many layers of meaning that can be found in each piece."
Layo Bright
About Layo Bright
Layo Bright’s sculptural practice explores migration, inheritance, legacy, and identity through hybrid portraits, textiles, and mixed media works that highlight natural forms and ancestral memory. Employing a range of materials such as glass, clay, wood, and textiles, these forms mirror fragile yet complex relationships with the personal, natural, and built environment.
Bright (b.1991, Lagos, Nigeria) received her LL. B (Hons.) from Babcock University, was called to the Nigerian Bar Association and received her MFA in Fine Art (Hons.) from the Parsons School of Design. Bright has exhibited work both internationally and nationally. Solo and group exhibitions include Rockhaven, moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL; The Alchemists, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Undercurrents, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, NY; Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN; Bode Projects, Berlin, Germany; Phillips, New York, NY; among others. She has participated in notable art fairs including Art Basel Hong Kong 2023, EXPO Chicago 2023, Art Basel Miami Beach 2022, Future Fair 2021, etc.
Previous residencies include Tyler School of Glass, Philadelphia, PA; NXTHVN Fellowship in New Haven, CT; Triangle, Brooklyn, NY; Flux Factory, Queens, NY; The Studios at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA; Tritryagain Studio Residency, Brooklyn, NY; International Studio Center Sculpture Residency at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton Township, NJ. She is the recipient of honors and awards including the UrbanGlass Winter Scholarship Award (2021/2020), the International Sculpture Center’s 2018 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award (2018), and the Beyoncé Formation Finalist Scholarship (2017). Bright lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
About the Ron Desmett Award
Pittsburgh Glass Center awards a minimum of $5,000 annually to an artist (or scholar) in one of four categories:
YOUTH: A student of high school age whose work embodies Desmett’s spirit and shows rare talent. An awardee in this category will receive a $2,500 cash award upon high school graduation to be used for further education and a year of free classes and private instruction at PGC.
GLASS ARTIST: An artist beginning his or her professional life working with glass, whose work embodies Desmett’s spirit in a creative nature and who shows great promise. An awardee in this category will receive a $2,500 cash award and time in PGC’s studios to create a new body of work.
NON-GLASS ARTIST: An artist whose medium of choice may not be glass, but over his or her creative life has embodied the experiential and experimental qualities that Desmett valued. An awardee in this category will receive a $2,500 cash award and time in the PGC studios with the help of an experienced glass artist to create his or her vision in glass.
WRITER: A writer who would use this award to focus on glass, with emphasis on craft media as sculpture exploring new thoughts as glass art matures. Critical thinking best exemplifies Desmett’s vision for communicating through art. Writers must have demonstrated manuscripts and be willing to work on questions posed by the committee in an effort to break new ground with this medium and with critical writing. An awardee in this category will receive $2500 cash award and a residency in Pittsburgh. The awardee would be expected to visit PGC and spend time exploring the medium through the lens of critical thinking. Additionally, the awardee would write an essay for publication on an exhibition at PGC and present a lecture on their topic at PGC.
PGC co-founder and wife of Ron Desmett Kathleen Mulcahy and a committee of other artists, curators and community leaders select the awardees. The deadline to apply is May 31, 2024. Applications are accepted online.
