Richard Prigg | Symbiotic Drift
Richard Prigg is a Pennsylvania-based stained glass artist whose practice bridges preservation and experimentation. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, he began his career at Beyer Stained Glass before serving as General Manager of Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, the largest stained glass studio in the United States. There he oversaw major projects including multimillion-dollar commissions and the restoration of the Charlemagne and Alcuin Tiffany Window at Lafayette College, once thought lost to fire.
In 2011, Prigg co-founded Sycamore Studios, where he continues to restore, repair, and create new work while advancing his own practice. Moving away from narrative traditions, his pieces emphasize the expressive potential of lead, solder, and mouthblown antique glass. More recently, he has integrated concrete into his constructions, extending stained glass into sculptural form.
Prigg has twice received the AGNX Award for Excellence from the American Glass Guild, where he also served on the board of directors. His work has been exhibited nationally, including at the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum (Arizona), Corning Museum of Glass (New York), Aston Mills Art Center (Pennsylvania), and Wayne Art Center (Pennsylvania).
Artist statement
“As I watch humankind slowly make the home we call Earth inhospitable, I often think about the future awaiting my artwork. I envision it someday, abandoned like everything else humans once made, lying in a dirty puddle somewhere. Over time, the lead will oxidize to a powder, and the glass will fall in a pile around the concrete. The concrete will last a long time, the glass even longer, but eventually the earth will absorb it all.”
“As I watch humankind slowly make the home we call Earth inhospitable, I often think about the future awaiting my artwork. I envision it someday, abandoned like everything else humans once made, lying in a dirty puddle somewhere. Over time, the lead will oxidize to a powder, and the glass will fall in a pile around the concrete. The concrete will last a long time, the glass even longer, but eventually the earth will absorb it all.”
instagram: @rick_prigg
Courtesy of the artist.
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