Since the first day he melted glass into a clear marble, Sean Donlon has been drawn to the challenges of glass manipulation. Donlon earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012. He has traveled all over the United States and internationally to Lauscha, Germany and Murano, Italy to study lost techniques in glass, and to work with other glass artists. Among his distinguished honors, Donlon was the recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts fellowship, was awarded Best in Show at Craft + Design, was featured in American Craft Magazine, Home & Design Magazine, and recently received the Smithsonian’s New Direction – Excellence in Design, of the Future award. Donlon’s work has been exhibited in the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Chrysler Museum, and several galleries throughout the United States. He is currently living and working in Richmond, Virginia.

Education

2012 Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA 

B.F.A Craft and Material Studies

 

Selected Awards

2019 Smithsonian – New Direction, Excellence in Design of the Future Award 

2017 VCU 25 Years of Service Award Commission — Richmond, VA
2016 Best in Show Award, Craft & Design — Richmond, VA 

2016 New Glass Review 37 Corning Museum Publication

2013 Chrysler Museum of Art, Traveler Assistant Scholarship recipient — Norfolk, VA

2012 Glass Art Society Student Scholarship, 42nd GAS Conference — Toledo, OH

2012 Dean’s Scholarship, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA

2012 Dean’s International Study Grant to Lauscha, Germany, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA

2012–13 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship — Richmond, VA 

2012 NICHE Awards Finalist, Glass Sculpture 

2010–11 Undergraduate Student Research Grant for Glass Eye Prosthetics, Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, VA

 

Select Exhibitions

2020 

“Hello There” Quirk Gallery — Charlottesville VA 

“Glean” Page Bond Gallery — Richmond VA

 

2019 

“47th International Glass Invitational Awards Exhibit” Habatat Gallery — Detroit MI 

“Art Nigh Exhibition” Washington Project for the Arts — Washington DC
“East Austin Studio Tour” Metropolitan Gallery — Austin TX

 

2018 

“Solo Exhibition” Quirk Gallery — Richmond VA 

“Bling it out” Iridian Gallery — Richmond VA

“GLass National” Workhouse — Lorton VA
“Art Night” Washington Project for the Arts — Washington DC “Glow-Glimmer-Shine-Sparkle” Page Bond Gallery — Richmond, VA

 

2017 

“New Waves” Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art — Virginia Beach, VA “Pocket Museum“ Houston Center for Contemporary Craft — Houston, TX 

“Tea Halo” Chrysler Museum of Art — Norfolk, VA
“Dream House Remix” Peninsula Fine Arts Center — Newport News, VA 

“Teapots 11th Invitational” Morgan Glass Gallery — Pittsburgh, PA “Tea Rhythm” Slover Library — Norfolk, VA

“Breaking Barriers” Visual Arts Center — Portsmouth, VA
 

2016 

“The Path Flows Through a Teapot” Strohl Art Center — Chautauqua, NY 

 

2015 

“Young and Artful” Visual Art Center — Richmond, VA

“Rhythm” Gallery 5 — Richmond, VA
 

2014 

“Mapping the Next Generation” The Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center — Portsmouth, VA

“Teapots” Quirk Gallery — Richmond, VA

“Heat Bend Repeat” FAB Gallery – Richmond VA

 

2013 

Chrysler Museum Glass Studio, solo exhibition, Vestibule 102 — Norfolk, VA

“Dreamscapes: Art and Design” Ghostprint Gallery — Richmond, VA
“Good things happen to bad people” Mule Barn Craft Studios — Richmond, VA “Grand Point Weird” Burlington Vermont

2012 

“GLASS: A Juried Art Show” Minnetrista Gallery, Juror: Katherine Gray — Muncie, IN “Shell as an Abode” Quirk Gallery Vault Solo Exhibition, Richmond, VA
Buyers’ Market of American Craft, Niche Awards Finalist Display — Philadelphia, PA

2011 

Riverviews Gallery 3rd Annual Juried Show — Lynchburg, VA 

VMFA Repurpose Slide Slam — Richmond, VA

 

Select Collections

Capital One Services
Chrysler Museum
Quirk Hotel
VCU

We are surrounded daily by functional objects, beauty everywhere is easily overlooked when it is hidden in plain view. Becoming obsessed with this practical object turned into an opportunity to make sense of the world.

The teapot became a symbol in my eyes, one that could be recognized by all people. Throughout history teapots have been used as a canvas for expression through its maker or utilizer. This makes the teapot a greater symbol – one that can connect everyone on the principle of taking a moment to wind down, interact, tell stories, or internally reflect.

I use flameworking, a glassblowing technique, to create these teapots. Within the manipulation of glass and fire a unique vessel is born.

This inanimate object becomes vibrant and alive when juxtaposed in a foreign environment; every teapot manifests its own personality in these installations. Reflecting light off of each other and playing with their environment, these teapots, in every viewing angle become their own story.

  • GATHER

    December 14, 2018 - January 05, 2019