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Stamelos Gallery

Guest Lecture by Herb Babcock:
American Studio Glass and Reflection on International Influence

Friday, Mar. 20, 2026, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
UM-Dearborn-Mardigian Library, first floor next to Stamelos Gallery

About the Event
Portrait of Herb Babcock
Portrait of Herb Babcock

Special guest lecture by Herb Babcock to accompany the current exhibition on display in the Stamelos Gallery Center Infinite Variety: Selections From the UM- Dearborn Glass Collection

Event is free to the public, and light refreshments provided.

In the early 1960’s, Harvey Littleton set out to make glass blowing a creative experience for craftspeople and artists in a small studio environment. This was the beginning of the American Studio Glass Movement that transformed glass from a factory-made product into an independent art form created in private studios. Glass is a medium of transitions. Most American participants were working in another medium before coming to work in glass as a primary material, many times, adding it to the repertory of their total art expression. As the movement grew, reaching out for international influence also assisted the artists’ endeavors.

Herb Babcock is a sculptor working in glass, metal, stone and other materials. He is Professor Emeritus from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. He was Chair of the Glass Department and taught for 40 years until 2013. Babcock’s current studio is in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Abstract sculpture composed of a circular metallic form resting on three angled metal legs. Attached to the outer ring are several clear, yellow-tinted glass elements shaped like elongated triangles. The sculpture combines industrial and organic aesthetics, with metallic surfaces showing a mottled and weathered look. The glass elements are oriented outward, suggesting movement or energy radiating from the center. The background is plain and neutral, enhancing the visibility of the sculpture’s intricate details.
Kickstart, Herb Babcock
Abstract sculpture featuring a cluster of hexagonal glass shapes in a honeycomb pattern. The glass elements are tinted in various colors including blue, red, green, and amber, and are arranged closely together. The structure is supported by a light gray, angled metal base, which contrasts with the dark background. Light reflects off the colored glass, highlighting the geometric pattern and vibrant hues.
Metaphoric Series, Herb Babcock
Circular sculpture made of yellow-tinted translucent material with a textured surface, decorated by rows of circular holes throughout. The disc has a central opening and a single wedge-shaped cut running from the edge to the center. It is mounted upright on a dark, rectangular metal base using two vertical metal supports. The background is plain black, emphasizing the bright and intricate details of the sculpture.
Long House/Shelter #7,
Herb Babcock

About the Exhibition

Infinite Variety: Selections from the UM-Dearborn Glass Collection

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 - Sunday, Apr. 26, 2026

A glass sculpture shaped like a translucent bag tied at the top, containing two smaller bag-like shapes inside—one orange and one purple. The sculpture rests on a dark background.
Bagged Bag Series,
Kate Vogel and John Littleton

This exhibition celebrates the infinite variety of art glass from the collection of UM-Dearborn, located an hour from where the American Studio Glass movement was born in 1962. However, the pieces included in this exhibition represent more than this movement; they reach back in time to the early 20th century and across oceans to Europe and Asia. The exhibition is organized into five themes that highlight key qualities of glass to showcase how artists play upon and confound our expectations of this medium. These themes are Ancient and Modern, Light, Nature, Prism, and Art.

Main Exhibition Page

The Stamelos Gallery Center is located on the first floor of the Mardigian Library at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. For more information, see below for contact information. Anyone requiring accommodations under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact lacotton@umich.edu.

Featured University Art Collection Piece

A dynamic construction scene, a recurring theme in his celebrated
Builders No. 3,

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), Serigraph print, 1974
Gift of Gilbert M. Frimet,
Collection of UM-Dearborn (1980.065)
Photographed by Tim Thayer

This powerful serigraph print from the permanent collection was created by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), one of this century's most widely acclaimed artists.

Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but moved to Harlem, New York, at 13. He is among the few painters of his generation who grew up in a Black community, received instruction primarily from Black artists, and was influenced by the experiences of Black individuals.

Lawrence's artwork portrays the lives and struggles of the Black community, capturing their experiences through several series focused on figures such as Toussaint L'Ouverture, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman, as well as themes related to life in Harlem and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. His style is characterized by vibrant colors and abstract forms.

In the 1940s, during a time of widespread segregation, Lawrence broke racial barriers by becoming the first Black artist whose work was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

He stated, "If at times my productions do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man's continuous struggle to lift his social position and to add dimension to his spiritual being."

Researched and written by:
Julianna Collins, Stamelos Gallery Center former intern, UM-Dearborn art history/museum studies graduate, Class of 2025

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  • Stamelos Gallery Center
  • 1st Floor, Mardigian Library, UM-Dearborn
  • 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128
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