Josiah McElheny · Works 1994-2000

Josiah McElheny’s sculptural installations explore conceptual concerns for history and art — social histories, oral histories, histories of design, visual art, fashion — culled from his ongoing study of glass. He is known for concise and elegant installations which embody particular and sometimes peculiar narratives. Objects of glass are represented in custom display situations often containing narratives or historical texts and images.

One of the works in the exhibition, titled From An Historical Anecdote About Fashion, is a continuation of his project included in the 2000 Whitney Biennial, and is an installation displaying objects and photographs which depict a lusty narrative of how ideas move from one field to another, in this case the controversial haute couture designs of Christian Dior and how they influenced factory workers in Italy in the 1950s.

McElheny was born in Boston in 1966 and is a 1989 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. He has apprenticed with Master Glassblowers Lino Tagliapietra and Jan-Erik Ritz. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.  He is the recipient of grants and awards from The Bagley and Virginia Wright Fund, Art Matters Inc. and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.

This will be the first exhibition of McElheny’s work in the Kansas City metro area.