Mind Over Matter

Object NameSculpture

Maker Richard Jolley (American, b. 1952)

Made FromGlass

Date2000

Place MadeUnited States, TN, Knoxville

TechniqueBlown, hot-worked, assembled

SizeOverall H: 146.05 cm, Diam (max): 41.91 cm

Accession Number2003.4.5

Credit LinePurchased with funds from Olivia and Harlan Fischer, Elice and Rhodes Haverty, Polly and Buzz Strasser, and Florence and Robert Werner

Curatorial Area(s)

Postwar and Contemporary

Not On View

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

The human figure is a central theme in Richard Jolley’s work. In the 1980s, he applied drawings made of glass threads, melted with a small propane torch, to the surface of his blown vessels. In the 1990s, he began making larger vessels and sculpture, which combined glassblowing and hot-working with large propane torches. Jolley’s interest in form and line is apparent in his drawings, but it is in the fully three-dimensional, sculpted figures that his understanding of the body is revealed. With its colorful stacked elements, Mind Over Matter is one of a series of sculptures that the artist calls “totems.” This sculpture is appealing in its color and ironic humor, but it is the pathos of the animated characters that leaves the most lasting impression.

Physical DescriptionTranslucent, multi-colored glass; blown and hot-worked. Sculpture composed of four distinct elements, stacked in a totem-like arrangement. At the top is an orange male head succeeded, in descending order, by two blue rings, an orange male figure wrapped around a red post, two blue rings, an orange male bust wrapped around a yellow, egg-shaped form, three blue rings, an orange ball wrapped with blue glass, one blue ring, one purple ring, and purple glass base.
Provenance

Source Polly Strasser - 2003-01-07

Source Robert Werner - 2003-01-07

Source Kaplan Gallery (1969-2018) - 2003-01-07

Source Olivia Fischer - 2003-01-07

Source Rhodes Haverty - 2003-01-07

Source Harlan Fischer - 2003-01-07

Source Buzz Strasser - 2003-01-07

Source Florence Werner - 2003-01-07

Source Elice Haverty - 2003-01-07