Klaus Moje
May 31 - September 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 | 
Contact
Allison Miller
Communication Specialist
503.276.4207
PORTLAND, Ore. — Klaus Moje has pushed the boundaries of the expressive and technical capabilities of glass for more than five decades. Organized by the Portland Art Museum, this 30-year retrospective traces the progression of Moje’s work, from his early carved crystal glass pieces, to the development of layered patterned glass vessels, to his recent multi-panel fused works. The 68 objects in Klaus Moje illustrate the dominant shapes and aesthetics of his work, and reflect his unparalleled contribution to the field of glass art.
An exciting inclusion in the exhibition is The Portland Panels: Choreographed Geometry, a massive four-panel work created especially for this retrospective. Composed of more than 22,000 hand-cut strips of glass fused together at the Bullseye Glass factory studios in Portland, this work is a stunning technical achievement. Over the course of a year, Moje collaborated with a team of glass technicians to overcome problems with the process of fusing glass at this monumental scale.
Moje, who is internationally acknowledged as the father of the contemporary kiln-glass movement, has influenced glass artists around the world. Innovative for its size and scale, his work references post-war painterly abstraction through the visual effects of Op Art, as well as the colors and landscape of Australia. His complex aesthetic is built on simple pattern repetition, dense overlays, and the use of adjacent complimentary colors, as well as the application of painterly concerns and techniques to the medium of glass. Using special grinding and polishing equipment, Moje abrades and carves the glass surface to create a matte finish that absorbs light, resulting in a velvet-like appearance.
About the Artist
Moje’s career began in 1955 with the completion of his journeyman’s certificate as a glass cutter and grinder at his family’s workshop in Hamburg, Germany. He received his Master’s Certificate at the Rheinbach and Hadamar Glass Schools. In 1982, Moje immigrated to Australia, where he founded the world-renowned glass workshop at Australian National University’s Canberra School of Art. There, he inspired a generation of artists working with kilnformed glass at a time when studio glass myopically focused on blown glass and hot-shop furnace work. Moje’s many awards include recognition as one of Australia’s Living Treasures. His work is in more than 50 international public collections, including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Moje will attend the opening of the exhibition, which is projected to travel to the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, and the Museum of Arts and Design, New York.
Catalogue
Klaus Moje is accompanied by a fully illustrated color catalogue with an essay by London-based glass specialist Dan Klein and a special section on the technical challenges met during the creation of The Portland Panels. The catalogue is available for purchase in the Museum Shop. Members: $22.45; non-members: $24.95.
EXHIBITION OVERVIEW
WHEN
May 31 – September 7, 2008
WHERE
The Jackie & Jerry Inskeep Gallery and the Julie Neupert Stott Gallery
ORGANIZER
Portland Art Museum
CURATOR
Bruce Guenther, Chief Curator, and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, with the curatorial assistance of Dan Klein
HOURS
Sundays: 12 pm – 5 pm
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Saturdays: 10 am – 5 pm
Thursdays & Fridays: 10 am – 8 pm
Closed Mondays and certain holidays; visit portlandartmuseum.org for a complete holiday schedule.
ADMISSION
Museum Members free
Adults $10
Seniors (55 and older) $9
Students (18 and older with ID) $9
Children (17 and younger)* free
Adult Groups (12 or more) $8
Special exhibition fees may apply.
*Children 14 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. One adult must accompany every six children. To plan a school tour, please call 503.276.4278.
SPONSORS
The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation
Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser/Jeffrey and Cynthia Manocherian
Bullseye Glass
The Henry Lea Hillman, Jr. Foundation
Al Solheim
Bernard B. Kliks Trust
Anne M. Barbey
Pat and Trudy Ritz
Schnitzer Novack Foundation
The Standard
NW Natural
Vibrant Table Catering & Events
Anonymous
About the Portland Art Museum
The seventh oldest museum in the United States and the oldest on the West Coast, the Portland Art Museum is internationally recognized for its permanent collection and ambitious special exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s holdings and the world’s finest public and private collections. The Museum’s collection of more than 42,000 objects, displayed in 112,000 square feet of galleries, reflects the history of art from ancient times to today. The collection is distinguished for its holdings of arts of the native peoples of North America, English silver, and the graphic arts. An active collecting institution, dedicated to preserving great art for the enrichment of future generations, the Museum devotes 90 percent of its galleries to its permanent collection. The Museum’s campus of landmark buildings, a cornerstone of Portland’s cultural district, includes the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, the Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, the Schnitzer Center for Northwest Art, the Northwest Film Center, and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Center for Native American Art. With a membership of over 23,000 households and serving more than 350,000 visitors annually, the Museum is a premier venue for education in the visual arts. For information on exhibitions and programs, call
503.226.2811 or visit portlandartmuseum.org.
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Editor’s Note: For high resolution images, please contact Allison Miller at allison.miller@pam.org or 503.276.4207.
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