Artist Statement

My practice ranges from the ancient techniques of lost wax casting and glassblowing to the contemporary 3D printing and digital manipulation. I am inspired by the high culture of classical sculpture as much as the low culture of dollar store holiday decorations. I use appropriated images to create glass and mixed media work to explore the connections between national identity, consumer culture, and mythology through objects and installation.

By manipulating and distorting my materials to elevate kitsch and undermine the Western canon, I explore the ways in which “History” can change over time as modern perspectives reinterpret events of the past. At times these pieces can be overloaded with iconography, just as the constant stream of news and images scrolling across our devices merge into an incoherent mass of content.

History repeats itself in my work. The repeating past informs the present. I mine the past for icons to remix in the present. A biblical boy hero, modeled in the Italian Renaissance, recreated as a lamp base in the 1950s, can become a stand in for young protestors in the 21st century. Multiple layers of meaning and investigation exist simultaneously in my work. My own love of history, mythology, and philosophy drives my curiosity into how we define our cultures via images

Artist Biography

James Labold is a glass sculptor whose practice ranges from the ancient techniques of lost wax casting and glassblowing to the contemporary 3D printing and digital manipulation.

Born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Labold spent childhood summers visiting Philadelphia’s museums with his grandmother, colonial era historical sites, New Jersey boardwalks, and a theme park based on candy bars. These were all critical to his development as an artist. He received his BFA from Tyler School of Art in 2004 and after briefly relocating to Arizona, James called Philadelphia home for the better part of a decade. In 2015 he received his MFA in Glass at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Inspired by the high culture of classical sculpture as much as the low culture of dollar store holiday decorations, Labold creates glass and mixed media work to explore the connections between national identity, consumer culture, and mythology through objects and installation.

James’ work has been included in The Corning Museum of Glass’s New Glass Review in2010,2015, and 2018. He has been Artist in Residence at Salem State University's Rosenberg Residency and Starworks Center for Creative Enterprises in Star, NC. He was selected for the Glass Art Society's 2016 Saxe Emerging Artist Award and lectured at their 2016 conference in Corning, NY. He has led workshops at universities and public glass studios throughout the U.S.as well as the International Summer Academy Bild-Werk Frauenau, Germany.

Labold currently lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Education

2015

Ball State University, Muncie, IN

Master of Fine Arts, Glass

2004

Temple University, Tyler School of Art Elkins Park, PA

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Glass

2002

Pilchuck Glass School-Stanwood, WA, Karen Willenbrink-Jansen Workshop

2001

Haystack Mountain School of Craft-Deer Isle, Maine, Einar & Jamex de la Torre Workshop

Awards and Honors

2021

Venture Cafe Philadelphia-Virtual Artist Talk

2018

Salisbury University-Salisbury, MD Visiting Artist

College for Creative Studies-Detroit, MI Visiting Artist

2017

Circle 6 Studios-Visiting Artist Phoenix, AZ

2016

STARworks Glass Artist in Residence-Star, NC

Glass Art Society Saxe Emerging Artist Award

Gathering: Contemporary Glass from the Heartland, IGAA Annual Juried Exhibition: Best in Show

College of Fine Arts Immersive Learning Micro-Grant, Ball State University

Distinguished Creative Project Award Nominee-Ball State University

2015

Aspire Creative Arts Grant-Ball State University

Glass Art Society Student Scholarship

2014

Glass Art Society International Student Exhibition-Honorable Mention

Rosenberg Residency for Emerging Artists-Salem State University. Salem, Mass.

2012

Neusole Glassworks-Visiting Artist Cincinnati, OH

2004

East Bay Batch and Color Graduation Award

2003

Contemporary Glass Philadelphia-Materials Research grant

2002

Rohm and Haas Fine Art Achievement Award

Pilchuck Partner Scholarship

Bibliography

Scan the World “James Labold: 3D printing and glass sculpting,” myminifactory.com, March 2021

Newhall, Edith “Mixed media, paintings and questioning reality,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 3, 2008

Dorof, Jakob, “Arts Picks-Mold Culture” Philadelphia City Paper July 24, 2008

Professional Experience

2021-2021

Instructor Glass 1, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD

2017-2018

Instructor Figurative Sculpture, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA

2017

Instructor “Form and Freeform” Bild-Werk Frauenau International Summer Academy, Frauenau, Germany

Instructor Special Topics, Mixed Media and Mold Blown Glass, University of Wisconsin River Falls, WI

2016

Instructor “Hot Blow Molds” FOCI-Minnesota Center for Glass Art, Minneapolis, MN

2014-2016

Instructor: Special Topics Neon, Spring 2016

Advanced Glass, Intermediate Glass, Fall 2015

Introduction to Glass, Fall 2014, Spring 2015 (Graduate Teaching Fellow)Ball State University, Muncie, IN

2014

Teaching Assistant Eoin Breadon Summer Intensive Goggleworks Center for the Arts Reading, PA

2009

Teaching Assistant Einar & Jamex De La Torre Workshop “Recombinant DNA” Penland School of Craft-Penland, NC

Selected Exhibitions

Solo and Two-Person

2020

Icons of Futures Past, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI August

2017

James Labold: Artist in Residence Exhibition Circle 6 Studios, Phoenix, AZ

2015

The Myth Is Real: Mystic Truths of American Exceptionalism, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Atrium Gallery Ball State University, Muncie, IN

2012

Shrinebuilder, Atmosphere @ Neusole Glassworks, Cincinnati, OH

2010

James Labold, Memphis Flats Project Space, Philadelphia, PA

2008

Labold Brothers Mold Culture, Little Berlin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (with Gregory Labold)

Group

2021

Bandits, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2020

Habatat Direct, Habatat Galleries, RoyalOak, MI

2019

Habatat Prime Chicago, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI

International Awards Exhibition, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN

47th Glass International Invitational, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI

2018

Spacelab, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2016

International Exhibition of Glass in Kanazawa, Shiinokie Cultural Complex, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

2015

Primer Pop Up, Gearbox, Muncie, IN

Gathering: Contemporary Glass from the Heartland, IGAA Annual Juried Exhibition, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN

Spectrum: Glass Invitational, Anno Domini Gallery, San Jose, CA

Victory for Tyler, Juried Alumni Exhibition, Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, PA

Glass Invitational, Circle 6 Gallery, Phoenix, AZ

2014

Ways of Making: An Exploration in Glass, Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA

2013

24th Minnetrista Annual Juried Art Show, Minnetrista Cultural Center, Muncie, IN

2011

Máscara, Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Summer Showroom, JSF contemporary, Philadelphia, PA

2010

The Six, McNeill Art Group Tribeca Project Space, NY, NY

Eye of the Beholder, Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD

Selected Artists, JSF Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA

2009

Play Nice With Others, Homeskooled Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2008

Summer Sampler, Elkton Station Gallery, Cecil College, Elkton, MD

2004

CGP Grant Recipients Show, Hot Soup Gallery, Philadelphia, PA