RICHARD JOLLEY
The human figure is always at the heart of Richard Jolley’s impressive creations, either on its own or accompanied by flora and fauna that, in terms of reference, are as all-encompassing as this adventurous artist’s zest for life. “For myself, the basic interest has always been the touch of the hand, which actualizes the concepts of the mind.”
When Jolley began working with glass in the early 1970s he knew he had discovered his muse. “There is a seduction with glass. It is such a beautiful material. I was trying to use non-traditional materials for art and at that time Jackson Pollack was using industrial painting techniques and developments were happening in plastics. It’s not a stretch to say sculpting glass is as non-traditional as any of these media.”
Jolley, who grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, decided to stay in the region and study glassmaking at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. The influences on Jolley’s work are a complex amalgam of not only where he studied, but where he grew up, the social fabric of the times, and sheer serendipity.
