Huntsville, Ala – How many artists can say their work has been featured on Oprah and Martha’s lists of favorites? Alabama’s Cal Breed can. His Roxy Pitcher was on the “O List,” and he was recently featured as a nominee in Martha Stewart’s American Made Competition. The Huntsville Museum of Art is pleased to present Encounters: Cal Breed, which will open Saturday, October 5. The exhibition will be on view through January 12, 2014.
The Museum’s award-winning Encounters series of regional contemporary art will continue with mostly NEW works by Breed, Alabama’s premier hot glass artist. Titled Pelts and Lyrics, the series explores connections between body, spirit and the natural world and references many natural forces and elements—including the surface of water, tree bark, a beehive, porcupine quills and the moon—to evoke a dramatic narrative.
“The individual works showcase many different glassmaking techniques, underscoring Cal’s inclination for innovation and experimentation,” Peter J. Baldaia, Director of Curatorial Affairs, said. Baldaia organizes the Encounters series of solo exhibitions to highlight outstanding regional contemporary art.
“You could say it is a study of the skins we wear and the songs we sing…a study using nature as a metaphor for our shells and our passions encased,” Breed said recently in an interview with Baldaia. Breed owns and operates Orbix Hot Glass, a glass studio which he opened in 2003 on the edge of Little River Canyon National Preserve in Fort Payne. Today, Orbix creates a Studio Series and a
Signature Series that adhere to Breed’s original purpose of marrying the engineer and artist within himself.
The Museum will kick-off the opening of the exhibition with a Gallery Walk with Breed on Sunday, October 6, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Grisham Gallery. The Women’s Guild of the Huntsville Museum of Art will host a reception following the program in the Richard and Roper Room.
Project support is made possible in part by The Alabama State Council on the Arts, Altherr Howard Design, The Huntsville Times, and The Women’s Guild of the Huntsville Museum of Art.
The Museum is closed on Mondays and some major holidays. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m. The Museum is also open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $8 for military, students, teachers, and seniors with a valid ID; and $5 for children ages 6−11. Admission for Museum members and children under 6 is free. For more information, visit www.hsvmuseum.org or call 256-535-4350.
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