Awareness Post - Hamilton Glass

Reflections, 36" x 48", Acrylic and Ink on Canvas

Theater Row (Broad Street), Intersection between Broad and Adams/ Richmond, VA

For this post, I chose to highlight the Work of Richmond-based artist Hamilton Glass. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Glass began taking art classes at a young age. Later in his life, he received his Bachelor’s of Architecture from Hampton University, but ultimately decided to follow his passion for public art. Glass’s work has been in a number of events and exhibitions, most recently including the Capitol One Black History Month Exhibit in McLean, VA and the Virginia Museum of Fine Art RVA Community Makers 2 event in Richmond, VA. Both were held in 2020. He also has multiple publications such as the Cover Story for the March issue of Grid Magazine in 2019, and the Top 40 Under 40 feature of Style Weekly in 2018.

I wanted to Highlight the work of Hamilton Glass because of his ability to use patterns, vivid colors and strong energy to connect to the community. These aspects are noticeable in both Glass’s paintings and murals, as seen above. Particularly in Reflection, I admire the detail in the figure’s face, making his expression much more powerful and the work itself much more effective. In his murals, Glass creates brilliant ways to activate the space and places an emphasis on empowering representation in his figures. These aspects of his murals make them much more impactful in terms of community connection, as they are more meaningful and enjoyable to viewers, which is something that I can certainly learn from Glass.