Modern and Contemporary Art

Exhibition

Stained and Scattered: Glass Works by Judith Schaechter and Jack Wax, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Virginia, closed May 21, 2006.

Note

Philadelphia-based artist, Judith Schaechter uses traditional stained glass techniques, drawing on centuries of architectural and religious history, to create something very contemporary. Her work often addresses difficult or uncomfortable subjects, made beautiful and transcendent by the medium of glass itself and her choice of lush colors and intricate patterns.

Schaechter has described her work as follows: “Medieval windows sought to confer inspiration and enlightenment to those who would see it. Beholding a stained glass window can enable, encourage, and literally enact the process of being filled with light. It sounds like some kind of preternatural phenomenon, but it’s a physical fact. While one is busy identifying and empathizing with the image, one also physically experiences the warming, filling sensations of light. It’s so persuasive not because the pictures are convincing narratives but because the colors are overwhelming and the light is sublime…it’s coming from inside you, it’s part of you.” [Judith Schaechter, Artist Statement, www.judithschaechter.com]