Breathtaking Stained Glass Masterpiece On View At Michener Art Museum

DOYLESTOWN, PA — There is still time to catch the first public exhibit of "Super/Natural" by artist Judith Schaechter at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown.

The show - on view through Sept. 14 in the Beans Gallery - features Schaechter's newest, monumental work - an immersive stained glass dome that explores the idea of biophilia, the human tendency to connect with nature.

Schaechter created the piece as an Artist in Residence at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, where a pioneering team of researchers and scientists explored the neural and biological basis of aesthetic experiences. Their research, and Schaechter’s recent work, explores relationships between art, beauty, morality, and the brain.

Filled with a riot of imagined insects, rodents, flora, plants, and birds, the Super/Natural dome encourages visitors to imagine themselves subsumed in the natural world, with all its beauty, violence, decay, and growth. The dome, reminiscent of a church, creates a sublime sanctuary space for the secular.

To complement "Super/Natural" and provide a context for this new work, "Judith Schaechter: Super/Natural" features nine additional stained-glass pieces by Schaechter that similarly explore the cultural construction of nature along with a series of drawings and sketches related to the Super/Natural me.

Schaechter is a renowned glass artist who has lived and worked in Philadelphia since graduating in 1983 with a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design Glass Program. She has exhibited widely, including in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, the Hague, and Växjö Sweden.

Hours for interior viewing of the "Super/Natural dome" are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Visitors are invited to step inside and immerse themselves in the beauty of Judith Schaechter’s breathtaking stained-glass masterpiece during museum hours.

Museum admission is free for members, $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $8 for college students with valid ID, $5 for youth ages 6 to 18 and free for children under six, who must be accompanied by an adult at all times. The museum is located at 138 South Pine Street in Doylestown.