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.
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.
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
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
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
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
2023
New Now VI, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
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)
2026
Future/Past/Present, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
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
