Skirball Cultural Center

Come see a vibrant artwork from the Skirball Cultural Center's collection. This new exhibition reflects on the essential themes of Sukkot, an ancient Jewish harvest festival. The works by artist Therman Statom (American, b. 1953) in this gallery, all created for presentation at the Skirball, speak to Sukkot’s key messages: the temporary nature of shelter, the value of welcome and belonging, and the preciousness of the natural world.  

Statom is a Black American artist and a major figure in the Studio Glass Movement of the 1960s. This exhibition spotlights his monumental piece To Dwell in a Glass House, commissioned by the Skirball in 1997. In it, he draws inspiration from the sukkah (meaning “booths” in Hebrew), a three-sided outdoor structure that Jews traditionally build and spend time in during the week of Sukkot. Though not of Jewish descent himself, Statom connected with the holiday and reinterpreted the sukkah using his own visual language and materials. 

While Statom’s 1997 glass sukkah celebrates nature’s bounty through its playful hand-blown glass fruits and embodies the value of welcome in its three-walled structure, his recently created paintings and vessels featured in this exhibition illustrate his own experiences, draw parallels between cross cultural practices honoring ancestors, and highlight contemporary stories of migration and displacement. Alongside preparatory studies and an artist interview, these works expand on the original piece and show the development of Statom’s artistic process and values.  

Statom, who identifies as an artist, educator, and advocate, bridges ritual and resistance, using glass to contemplate: What defines shelter? How do we honor the past while envisioning inclusive futures? 
 

Curatorial Acknowledgments

This exhibition is organized by the Skirball Cultural Center and curated by Jideofor Chikeruba, Community Connections Research Fellow.

Therman Statom (American, b. 1953) is an internationally recognized glass artist and sculptor whose work has had a noteworthy influence on contemporary art and arts education. Born in Winter Haven, Florida, and educated at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Pratt Institute, Statom has exhibited in renowned venues such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the California African American Museum and the Los Angeles Central Public Library. In the mid-1980s, he ran the hot glass studio at University of California, Los Angeles.