Friday April 11, 2025 from 6:00pm-8:30pm
Join us at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts for the reception and artist talk for our solo glass neon exhibition Embracing Fallibility, followed by a neon bending demonstration by the artist James Akers. This reception is an opportunity to meet a local professional glass artist and hear them speak first-hand about how and why they create their artwork.
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVP is not required, but recommended. This exhibition is supported by grant funding from the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass.
Event Schedule: 6:00pm Artist Talk, 7:00pm Neon Demonstration
The Embracing Fallibility exhibition is open for viewing during our gallery hours April11 - July 19, 2025.
Artist Biography: James Akers is a Brooklyn, New York based artist working with glass, computers, and electricity. Akers grew up in Maryland skateboarding, playing guitar and hacking video games. He received a BFA from Alfred University in 2015 and currently operates a neon fabrication company called Nebula Neon with his partner, Ali Feeney. His artwork has been shown in museums, galleries, fairs, and houses around the world.
In his work Akers finds interest in themes of celebration and excess, digital surveillance and influence, consumerism, bliss, and rebellious subversion. He employs a messy approach when designing and assembling his sculptures embracing a “show your work” philosophy. Exploring the idea of a decentralized internet made for and by its users, Akers has recently been programming a series of web-server sculptures as a component to his work outside of the glass studio. Website: https://www.jamesakers.net Instagram: @jamesakers2
What is neon? According to the Corning Museum of Glass, ‘neon is an inert gas that, like some other gases, has the properties of high electrical conductivity and strong light-emissive power. Such gases can be introduced into evacuated glass tubes. Under these conditions, an electrical discharge causes the gas to emit light. Different gases emit different colors; for example, neon emits red. Regardless of the gases employed, lighting of this type is known as neon lighting.’
Travel & Parking: Our entrance is facing E 22nd St, beside a garage door and a small parking lot that is free to use. Additional free parking is available on the surrounding streets. One block to Hwy 55/Hiawatha Ave. Two blocks to entrance to I-94. Two blocks to Franklin LRT Station.
Metro Transit: Nearest bus stops are #56504 (22nd St E & Cedar Ave S) and #16444 (Minnehaha Ave S & 22nd St E), both on Route 9. Nearest light rail station is on Franklin Avenue (Blue Line). Both stops are within a five minute walk from the studio.
Accessibility:
Wheelchair-accessible restroom and entrance
A limited amount of wheelchair-accessible parking spaces are available in the lot in front of our entrance.
Please reach out to us at contact@mnglassart.org for questions or assistance preparing for your visit.
Please note that the glassblowing space (or 'hotshop') has very strong ventilation system which is used to manage the heat, so the environment may be somewhat noisy.