STUDIO ART MAGIC

 Born in Austin, MN, in 1978, Phil Gleason lives and works in Tallahassee, FL.  Phil earned his MFA in sculpture from the Florida State University in 2008 and a BFA from the University of Minnesota in 2003.  He is the Studio Manager at the FSU Master Craftsman Studio where he creates Large and small scale public works.  FSU MCS is an educational Atilier where Phil is a project manager for many architectural, commercial, private and public commissions. He has worked as an effects coordinator for theaters and haunted houses, using props, gimmicks, lighting and black arts as theater magic. 

His sculpture is focused on illusion using mediums such as lights and mirrors, Infinity boxes, flat/forced perspectives, levitations through magnets and balance,  and rendering visual reality a farce.  Gleason works as a sculptural magician creating an illusory effect to leave in the gallery for his audience to discover.  He invites the viewer to ask “How is this done?”  His art gives one pause to consider; What is reality?  Reality is a frame of mind that Gleason’s sculptures aim to unhinge if only for a moment, until the audience becomes wise and the trick becomes lucid.