Henry Halem (b. 1938)

The idea behind this work was to formalize what was in its time an informal vessel. The richly colored interior box which contains the vessel is surrounded by a simple decorative aluminum frame. In essence the concept was to formalize the informal. Henry Halem has exhibited extensively since 1969. He taught glass at Kent State University for 29 years where he received the President's Medal for Outstanding Achievement. He has received the 1994 Governor's Award from the State of Ohio. His glass work has been included in international exhibits and is in the permanent collections of many museums including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Smithsonian Institution and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Public art commissions include a large cast glass wall executed with Brinsley Tyrrell for RTA. The underlying message in all of his work is that glass like all other materials available to the artist, is at the service of the artist and he says " I define my art by content and not by material."