Brent
Cole 
STATEMENT
I enjoy utilizing many techniques and materials in creating my artwork.
I find glass to be one of the more captivating materials that I use. Like
memory, glass is a continual exercise of tightening up and letting go.
It takes on so many characteristics, offering up many personalities to
delve into.
BIO
Brent Cole,
who earned his B.F.A. in glass from The Cleveland Institute of Art and
his M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
takes a more painterly approach to glass, seeing it as a canvas. Applying
his graal interpretation, he works
hot and cold, meticulously dotting enamel dust across the surface, bringing
lush mountain landscapes to life. "Working in the mountains of western
North Carolina provided me with endless views from which to draw inspiration,"
he says. As for early influences, he credits two turn-of-the-century companies—the
French glass manufacturer Daum and Rookwood Pottery of Ohio—as well
as the early work of Mark Peiser. Brent has been a teaching assistant
for various artists at Pilchuck School and Penland School of Crafts. He
has been a resident artist at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee
and the Energyxchange in North Carolina. Brent is currently the Visiting
Assistant Professor in the Glass Department at the University of Miami.