Phil Gleason

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. 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 films, theaters and haunted houses, using props, gimmicks, lighting and black arts as visual magic.

His sculpture is focused on illusion using mediums such as lights and mirrors, flat perspectives, magnets and balance, rendering visual reality a farce. 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.