{"id":4116,"date":"2022-02-10T16:18:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T16:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=4116"},"modified":"2022-02-10T16:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T16:18:12","slug":"tma-recognizes-sculptor-percy-echols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/10\/tma-recognizes-sculptor-percy-echols\/","title":{"rendered":"TMA Recognizes Sculptor Percy Echols"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Percy Echols, II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Tricia Hall<\/em>
\nThe Truth Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n

The Toledo Museum of Art has welcomed glass and contemporary artists through the residency program titled The Guest Artist Pavilion Project (GAPP) since 2006. The 50th<\/sup> recipient is Pittsburgh native, Percy Echols II, a black artist in a discipline featuring few other artists of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cA person of color hasn\u2019t always been seen in this medium, I\u2019m glad I can provide another face to this medium. I can name five artists of color in my medium, but three of them work with light and neon but don\u2019t produce anything,\u201d shared Echols.<\/p>\n

Echols\u2019 art incorporates gas, structure models and electricity into a final sculpture. Four noble gases: Neon, Argon and Krypton, Xenon, also known as Plasma, are held inside glass using a structure mold or structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis art form allows me use molds to create shapes. The gases illuminate and provide colors, it\u2019s called Plasma Light Art,\u201d shared Echols.<\/p>\n

He began experimenting with this art form in 2011, developed the necessary equipment in 2016 and over time has found a community of artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage other artists to find a medium that inspires them. I also found a community of other artists through glass which is worldwide. I have also found opportunity within the community, including this residency,\u201d shared Echols.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Micsha Nalepa, lead glass studio artist_ Echols_ Hoscok Youn, studio artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the Museum\u2019s website, GAPP invites artists to explore and be inspired without restrictions by the Museum\u2019s collection, studio facilities and staff. The program features established and emerging artists\u2019 residencies, public artists talk and offers intensive workshops with artists who can share specialized techniques with the community. Echols\u2019 residency is from February 2-11, 2022 and will conclude with a virtual presentation on February 11 at 7:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis residency has been a world-class experience. I\u2019ve received 100 percent support from the staff and facility to pursue ideas. Sometimes when you receive a residency, you need to save up your money for expenses but this museum addressed all of those concerns. I\u2019m grateful to the studio and tech staff for this opportunity to exchange and learn idea styles,\u201d said Echols.<\/p>\n

Echols\u2019 work has been featured in galleries and art centers including: Krasl Art Center in Michigan, Fondazione Berengo in Italy, and BoxHeart Gallery in Los Angeles to name a few. He has received many grants and awards, including the Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, for advancing Black Art in Pittsburgh and the Edwin Niemi Metals Scholarship, from Illinois State University.<\/p>\n

He is the curator of the 2021 exhibition: \u201cLIT: Light in Transmission, A Neon and Plasma Light Exhibition\u201d at the Hodge Gallery. He also earned a Bachelor\u2019s of Fine Arts in Studio Glass from Illinois State University and has created his own podcast, \u201cTaming Lightning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPercy Echols II is a pioneering glass artist whose work in Plasma Light Sculpture is both unique and intriguing. We\u2019re delighted that he will be sharing his talents with us as our 50th<\/sup> GAPP artist,\u201d said Alan Iwamura, Toledo Museum of Art glass studio manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tricia Hall The Truth Reporter The Toledo Museum of Art has welcomed glass and contemporary artists through the residency program titled The Guest Artist Pavilion Project (GAPP) since 2006. The 50th recipient is Pittsburgh native, Percy Echols II, a black artist in a discipline featuring few other artists of color. \u201cA person of color […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[106],"class_list":["post-4116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4119,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4116\/revisions\/4119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4116"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=4116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}