Saxe Emerging Artist awardees announced

Following a rigorous and competitive jurying process with over 30 nominees, the Glass Art Society (GAS) has announced the recipients of the 2024 Saxe Emerging Artist award. They are Priscilla Kar Yee Lo, Sadhbh Mowlds and Abegael Uffelman.

Established by studio glass collectors Dorothy and the late George Saxe, this annual award recognises emerging talent in the glass community. Recipients receive a cash award, lecture at the annual GAS Conference, as well as having their work featured in an online exhibition and catalogue.

Brandi P Clark, executive director at GAS, commented, “Each of this year’s recipients combines new techniques, new ways of thinking, and new ways of working to shed light on important contemporary issues and to advance the medium of glass. Their work represents the very best of the future of glass. We are honoured to recognise these artists at this pivotal moment in their careers and are excited to see how they will use this platform.”

Priscilla Kar Yee Lo has a Bachelor’s degree in Craft and Design from Sheridan College and a Master of Fine Arts from Illinois State University in the US. She is currently the Resident Artist at Rochester Institute of Technology. She stated, ““By employing pop culture icons [like Hello Kitty] that are rooted in systemic patriarchy to highlight the intersectionality of being a minority female, I hope to advance this changing reality. I view this as an act of defiance, taking back a symbol of oppression to create a counter-narrative that serves to empower Asian females. Ultimately, I view my work as a nostalgic and whimsical, yet mischievous way of documenting where women, particularly immigrant women, are placed within a societally-prescribed racial framework.”

Sadhbh Mowlds is a visual artist who was born and raised in Dublin. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts from the National College of Art and Design, Ireland. She worked as a freelance glassblower at Berlin Glas, Germany, before taking a Master of Fine Arts in the US at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She has exhibited internationally and her work is in the permanent collections of Kunstsammulungen Coburg, Germany, and the Museum of American Glass, New Jersey, US. Sadhbh said, “Using the body as an emissary, I probe the delicate boundary between our internal and external self, describing the impact societal perceptions of gender roles, value systems,and class divides have on our suffering consciousness. This investigation culminates in bizarre, bodily sculptures that emphasise the restrictive bond we have with our flesh and the social situations that come along with it.”

Abegael Uffelman earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in the US. Currently, she is the programme coordinator and an instructor at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Art in Minneapolis, US.In describing her work, Abegael stated, “I strive to understand the relationships and connections between others, both intimate and fleeting. Growing up as a transracial Asian adoptee in a White family has impacted my life in a profound way. My work is a comment on situations my family and I have faced in American society – from personal reflection into adoption records to racial microaggressions.”