Huntsville, Ala – The Huntsville Museum of Art is pleased to present Psychedelic Mania: Stephen Rolfe Powell’s Dance with Glass, opening Saturday, May 4, and on view through July 21, 2013. The exhibit will consist of more than 80 works by internationally-known master glass artist and Alabama native Stephen Rolfe Powell.

Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Psychedelic Mania was originally presented in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the American Studio Glass movement in 2012. To kick off the exhibition in Huntsville, the museum will host a Preview Bash on Thursday, May 2, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. During the event, Powell will give a lively highlight tour, and guests can enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and live rock music from the band Toy Shop.

“Among American artists working in glass, Powell is acclaimed for creating lively and colorful pieces that are technically quite challenging to create,” says Peter Baldaia, Director of Curatorial Affairs. “Their dazzling color, intricate details, oversized scale and sensual forms always delight and amaze.”

The artist’s piece titled “Bodacious Gasp Johnson” is on permanent display in the Baker Gallery, along with other works in the Museum’s American Studio Glass Collection. Powell incorporates thousands of tiny beads of color (called murrine) into his works, which he blows and stretches into suggestive, asymmetrical shapes. His inventive method of blowing, swinging and torching the molten glass, combined with tongue-in-cheek titles, offers a fresh departure from conventional glass vessels.

Beginning with early ceramic vessels and glass prototypes, the exhibition showcases Powell’s oversized blown glass vessels from his Teasers series; large, asymmetrical sculptures from his Whacko and Screamer series; and stunning bowls from his most recent body of work, Echoes.

The exhibition is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Joan Loeb, Corinna and Barry Wilson, Loree and Owen Aronov, and Teri Aronov, Linda and Larry Puckett, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Dawn and Adam Schloss, Servisfirst Bank, Winifred and Charles A. Stakely, and Support the Arts License Tag Fund.  Local support is provided by Kelly and Randy Schrimsher, The Alabama State Council on the Arts, The Huntsville Times, and The Women’s Guild of the Huntsville Museum of Art.

Tickets to the Preview Bash are $25 for members and $45 for non-members. The public is encouraged to RSVP by April 26 to 256-535-4350 ext. 208. Museum general admission is FREE for members and children under 6. Admission for non-members is $10 for adults; $8 for military, students, teachers, and seniors with a valid ID; $5 for children ages 6−11; and $7 per person for groups of 10 or more.

The Museum is closed Mondays and some major holidays. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended hours Thursdays until 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.hsvmuseum.org or call 256-535-4350.

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