Myrna and Sheldon Palley Glass Artist Lecture Series

interior view of palley pavillion with people looking at artwork interior view of palley pavillion with people looking at artwork
Detail of the Palley Pavillion
abstract glass scultpure, tubular shape in orange, green, blue. tubular shaped abstract glass sculpture, green, orange, red, blue
Detail: Paul Seide, United States, born 1949 Spiral Neon, c. 1989 Glass, neon, and electrical base 17 × 24 × 14 in. (43.2 × 61 × 35.6 cm) Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami Gift of the Martin E. Messinger Family 2016.10.13 © Paul Seide
abstract glass sculpture, geometric shapes, frosted grey in color abstract glass sculpture, geometric shapes, frosted grey in color
Detail: Sidney Hutter, United States, b. 1954 Verti XIV, 1983 Laminated glass plates 16 5/8 x 13 3/4 x 4 in. (42.2 x 34.9 x 10.2 cm) Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami Gift of Bernie Bercuson 94.0042.33 © Sidney Hutter
clear glass cube with flower embedded inside solid glass, this is a sculpture clear glass cube with flower embedded inside solid glass, this is a sculpture
Detail: Paul Stankard, United States, b. 1943 Floral Assemblage, 1999 Flame-worked and cold-worked glass 7 7/8 × 7 1/8 × 4 3/8 in. (20 × 18.1 × 11.1 cm) Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami Gift of Annie and Mike Belkin 2008.35.2 © Paul Stankard

Glass is an art form that is alive, it reflects and feeds off the environment-especially light. Glass is not flat, like a painting or a piece of sculpture; it’s got light within. As I always say: it would be a dismal world if everything was black and white. - Myrna Palley  
 

Sheldon Palley (B.B.A ’56, J.D. ’57) and his late wife Myrna (B. Ed. ’56) were not only pioneers in the realm of contemporary glass collecting but also steadfast supporters of the University of Miami and the Lowe Art Museum. It is thanks to their visionary generosity that, for over a decade, the Lowe's many audiences have been able to enjoy the distinctive Palley Pavilion for Contemporary Ceramics and Studio Glass. This 4,000 square-foot, light-filled facility showcases seminal works by William Carlson, José Chardiet, Dale Chihuly, Dan Dailey, Laura Donefer, Michael Glancy, Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, Harvey Littleton, Lino Tagliapietra, Tom Patti, Mary Van Cline, and Steven Weinberg, among many others. It is also thanks to the couple that, since 2018, the Museum has been able to bring leading practitioners in the contemporary glass field to UM's campus through the biannual Myrna and Sheldon Palley Glass Artist Lecture Series.

Past Palley Programs

  • Mary Shaffer, October 11, 2023
  • Sabrina Knowles and Jenny Pohlman, April 26, 2023
  • John Miller, October 12, 2022
  • Joyce Scott, September 26, 2019
  • Richard Jolley, April 2, 2019
  • Hank Murta Adams, November 9, 2018
  • Therman Statom, February 6, 2018