Gene Koss: Fired up
In the basement of the Newcomb Art Building, fiery furnaces glow as glassmakers produce works of beauty. Presiding over this 12,000-square-foot, world-class studio is Professor Gene Koss, an artist whose glassworks have gained him national and international renown. Glasswork has been Koss's life; he came to Tulane in 1976 and has developed what has been called one of the most important glass programs in North America.
When Koss finished graduate school, four universities offered him teaching positions. On the advice of his professors, he chose Tulane. He began the glass program with just eight students. Today, the program has about 80 students, attracted by the opportunity to work with artists like Koss, whose goal has been to make glasswork an art, not just a craft.
Koss is noted for his large glassworks, some of which weigh seven to eight tons. Often they are made up of heavy, cast-glass slabs, wood and steel. Some reflect his agricultural background; Koss was born in Wisconsin. His works are exhibited in the Contemporary Arts Center and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans as well as in private collections, museums and public buildings across the country.
In addition to his work at Tulane, Koss maintains his own 7,000-square-foot studio in Belle Chasse. He says he is one of the lucky few who has no need of hobbies because his work is his favorite pursuit. He keeps a sketchbook on hand to capture ideas when they come to him. "An artist cannot sit still," he says. "He has to push the boundaries."
Koss says he seeks students with lots of creative drive. Some decide to major or minor in the arts, while others want to just take a few classes to learn about glass. Although working with glass takes both physical and mental energy, size is no barrier, Koss says; he has had students ranging in age from 7 to 80.
Koss likes to travel to get inspiration for his work. He has done glass research in Murano, Italy, and has shown his works in Italy, Germany and Japan. His wife, Mary, is a CPA, and Koss jokes that she handles the "business end" of his life so he can be free to create. He can't imagine a life other than the one he leads. Glass is hot and hard to work with, he concedes, but it is the material that fits him best and he enjoys being able to pass that passion down through his students.
