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Exhibit to celebrate late renowned glass artist, Centre professor

Posted at 11:22 AM, Jul 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-25 11:22:18-04

LORETTO, Ky. (LEX 18) — An upcoming exhibit will celebrate the life and work of renowned glass artist Stephen Rolfe Powell, an influential creator and longtime Centre College professor who died unexpectedly in May.

A spokesman for Maker's Mark said dozens of Powell pieces will be on display Aug. 2 through Nov. 30 at the company's distillery in Loretto.

The company said the exhibition was in the planning stages before Powell's death and that it has a comissioned piece of his that has been on display for years.

The exhibit will include 43 pieces, some that have never been displayed in public.

When Powell died in May, his loss was felt deeply at Centre College, where he had worked for more than 30 years.

After graduating from Centre, he continued to make his mark on campus by becoming an art teacher at the school in the early 1980s.

Powell’s colleagues and former students called him a gifted artist and teacher.

“It’s a great loss for the Centre community, its a great loss for the artistry that he won’t be preforming and he was also a wonderful person,” Christine Eckerline, a former student, said at the time of his death.