Clearly Oranges

Therman Statom’s objects incorporate simple forms that, when combined with other shapes, tell a story or establish a theme. Over each form, Statom adds a layer of brushed paint, bringing the artist’s hand back into the creative process. When he began working with glass, he wanted to be a glassblower. But he was also attracted to sheet glass, which he cut and assembled with his blown forms into sculptures.
Statom’s interest in composition and assemblage resulted in a series of small, paint-splashed sheet glass houses. The houses enclosed glass shards, blown glass objects, found objects in a variety of materials, and the artist’s writing and drawings. They were soon accompanied by other, similarly constructed domestic forms, including chairs and ladders, and then room-size installations. Statom then developed his large wall pieces, such as Clearly Oranges, which he calls “divided paintings.” Bits of glass and other found materials that he applied to his sculptures and paintings are chosen from the tall piles of broken glass and objects amassed in his studio.
Over time, Statom has not changed his way of working, but his individual sculptures, such as Color Field, have expanded in size, and his installations have become more ambitious and complex. For his larger commissions and site-specific installations, he invites local youths to participate in the making of the assembled elements, giving them the opportunity to explore objects, color, and line. Of his ongoing work with young people, Statom says, “The one thing I know is that art makes kids smarter. These kids are just beginning to do something with their lives and if you can help them realize . . . that they can make something that has value—that’s what’s important.”