Wm. Austin Norvell has created 19 unique truck sculptures, which will be on display for two weeks. Loaded, the show’s title, takes on a literal and figurative meaning when viewing Norvell’s work. The beds of the glass renderings of a ‘69 Ford are loaded with miscellany: tires, bottles, artichokes, shells, and corn-on-the-cob. But what’s most loaded are the memories Norvell’s pieces help the viewer recall. While Norvell, too, creates iconic Charleston images–facades of double-porched homes, the Hunley, oyster knives, and sweetgrass baskets, which are available through commission and will also be on display at Redux–simple and everyday glass works feel most like home.
 
With deliberation in his techniques and in the objects he keeps close to his heart, Loaded is Norvell’s homage to, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

About the artist

Wm. Austin Norvell is a Charleston native and a College of Charleston alumnus (2000). In 2004, Norvell attended a workshop at the Penland School of Crafts where he was first introduced to cast glass. Several years later, he would return to spend four years immersed in the craft community surrounding the school, and, since, Norvell has been back in his hometown working with glass, the medium he says is the “most challenging, and, in turn, rewarding.” Norvell is represented by Vetri Gallery in Seattle, W.A. and is currently seeking representation in the Southeast. He splits his time between conceptual work and creating production and commissions for clients. With his production work, under the project name of Melt Glass Foundry, Norvell pays homage to the Lowcountry by shaping the facades of Charleston homes, sweetgrass baskets, boiled peanuts, and, simply, the feeling of nostalgia. He says, “I am a custodian of stuff–preserving its heritage and safeguarding its legacy.” For more, visit austinnorvellart. com.