A Glass Act

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Posted on February 20, 2024

Amber Day

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The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ by the Bay Eastern Shore Speaker Series features a diverse range of lectures and performances by artists, scholars and industry experts at the University of South Alabama Baldwin County Campus in Fairhope. Matthew Patterson, an associate professor of glass art at the University, will present “A Glass Act: Teaching and Making Art on the Gulf Coast'' at the next speaker series event to be held Friday, March 15 at 3 p.m. The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Glass Art Program will also display an exhibition of student and faculty work.  

Seating is limited at the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Baldwin County Campus Performance Center. Registration is required at SouthAlabama.edu/SpeakerSeries. 

Patterson joined the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Department of Art and Art History in 2011. He has been creating work for more than 15 years that emphasizes beauty and a reverence for the natural world. His studio practice encompasses many techniques, from classical glass blown vessels to explorations in figurative sculpture employing a wide range of applications in glass, wood, metal and other mixed media.

Patterson’s artwork has been exhibited internationally in galleries, museums and private collections. His work has been shown in more than 100 juried and group exhibitions, including three solo shows, and has won many awards.

Recent highlights include Best in Show at Weber Arts for the 2019 Open Theme International exhibition in St. Louis, Missouri; first place in sculpture at the 25th Arts North International exhibition at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Minnesota; Best in Show at the international AASH Vol 5. Exhibition at the Arcadia Theatre in Texas; and the Award of Merit in CraftForms 2023 at the 28th International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Fine Craft in Pennsylvania.

The University of South Alabama offers the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with concentrations in animation, art history, ceramics, graphic design, painting, photography, sculpture, glass and printmaking. Students can also pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Technologies and Practice. 

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