Corey Pemberton: Living Well

Mint Museum Uptown; Level 3

Living Well references the central theme of the show, one that dominates Pemberton’s two-dimensional work: ordinary living spaces depicting Black, queer, female, and nonbinary individuals living spaces and exploring how people design and build out their living spaces with objects that reflect respite, personality, memories, and ambitions.

The glass objects in the exhibition are a mix of carefully crafted replicas of objects found in living spaces—commercial objects like a 40 ounce Old English, a liter of Coca-Cola, a can of Black Magic hairspray—as well as those that quote decorative heirlooms, such as Murano glass and face jugs, objects that are intrinsically tied to the African Slave Trade.

Organized by The Mint Museum and curated by the Mint’s Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art Jen Sudul Edwards, PhD.

About the artist

Pemberton spends his time divided between painting, glassblowing, and community outreach work with the nonprofit Crafting the Future, of which Pemberton is co-founder and director. He has participated in residencies at The Pittsburgh Glass Center (PA), Bruket (Bodø, Norway), and at Penland School of Crafts (NC) as a Core Fellow. Additionally, Pemberton serves on the Board of Trustees at Penland and the Corning Museum of Glass.