James Labold

James Labold was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia, where he spent childhood summers visiting museums with his grandmother, historical sites, New Jersey boardwalks, and a theme park based on candy bars. These were all critical to his development as an artist.

His work draws on contemporary and historical imagery to create imagined narratives reflecting on the bridges between past and present culture, inspired by the high culture of classical sculpture as much as the low culture of dollar store holiday decorations. A love of history, mythology, and philosophy drives his curiosity into how we define our cultures via images.

James received his BFA from Tyler School of Art in 2004 and after briefly relocating to Arizona, he called Philadelphia home for the better part of a decade.  In 2015 he received his MFA in Glass at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana before returning to the east coast in 2016.

As an educator he has led workshops at universities and public glass studios throughout the U.S. as well as the International Summer Academy Bild-Werk Frauenau, Germany.

His work has been included in New Glass Review in 2010,2015, and 2018. James has been Artist in Residence at Salem State University's Rosenberg Residency and Starworks Center for Creative Enterprises in Star, NC. He was selected for the Glass Art Society's 2016 Saxe Emerging Artist Award and lectured at their 2016 conference in Corning, NY. 

Labold currently lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania while also teaching glass courses.