Josiah McElheny

Josiah McElheny (b. 1966) is a conceptual artist known for his sculptural works in blown glass. After graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design, he spent many years apprenticed to master glassblowers in Europe and the United States. Deeply influenced by minimalist artist Donald Judd, McElheny's sculptures and installations delve into "big ideas" including history, cosmology, modernity, infinity, and utopia, among others.

McElheny has exhibited his work nationally and internationally, including the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum, New York; Seattle Art Museum; the White Cube Gallery, London; and the Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.

Eternity through the stars

Eternity through the stars is a suite of six prints with photogravure images and letterpress text, part of McElheny's ongoing investigation into the origin of the universe. The images are derived from his photographs of the Lincoln Center chandeliers designed by Lobmeyr in the 1960s. The text is adapted from a cosmological treatise by the Marxist revolutionary Louis Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881), written while he was imprisoned during the 1871 Paris Commune.

Studies in the Search for Infinity

Studies in the Search for Infinity, a suite of ten photogravures, derives from McElheney's 1997-1998 installation of blown glass discs, also called Studies in the Search for Infinity. Each print features a tightly cropped image of a mouth-blown plate, set against a black background that highlights its white, swirling "infinity" pattern. The extreme clarity of the glass recalls "cristalloware," developed in Venice in the Renaissance, at a time when philosophers, astronomers and poets were debating whether the universe had a finite or infinite past. Their questioning set the groundwork for what we now know as the Big Bang Theory, a central focus of the artist's ongoing investigation into the origin of the universe.

Printmaking + Sculpture Terms

Printmaking Glossary

Sculpture Glossary

Sales

For sales, or more information about an edition, please contact Graphicstudio at (813) 974-3503 or gsoffice@usf.edu.

Copyright + Reproduction

Images of the artwork are jointly owned by the artist and Graphicstudio. Reproduction of any kind including electronic media must be expressly approved by Graphicstudio.