Neon Art to Brighten up January in Toledo School for the Arts Gallery

Eye On Art  |  01/09/2025 11:30 am

“Neon can change the atmosphere of a space by creating a calm environment, cool vibe or an extraordinary experience,” says Kory Sherer, neon glass master and owner of Bent Custom Neon, the only neon studio within 100 miles of Toledo. 

Mr. Sherer’s vibrant neon artwork will light up these gray, dreary January days in the Martin D. Porter Art Gallery in the Community Portal at Toledo School for the Arts. The exhibition, After Glow, opens at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 10 and runs through Friday, January 31. A closing reception with the artist will be held on Friday, January 24 from 6 to 8 p.m.

TSA’s interest in neon is longstanding. The school is owner of the largest collection of neon signs by renowned local neon artist Phil Hazard, who introduced Mr. Sherer to the school as an accomplished artist and craftsman.

The first time Mr. Sherer experienced neon was when he was 10 years old. He had gone to a neon shop and watched someone making a sign, becoming fascinated by the entire process. 

Mr. Sherer started his career in 1993 in Detroit, Michigan, taking six years to master the craft before he felt confident enough to make anything in neon. All of his projects are crafted by hand.

“Neon is both art and architecture,” he explains, noting that the techniques for bending the glass tubing are the same whether he is creating a one-of-a-kind sculpture for private collectors or eye-catching signs for commercial businesses.

“There is a lot more meaning when it’s handmade,” Mr. Sherer explains. “An outstanding neon piece will burn an image in someone’s mind forever. For example, I can remember the first neon sign I ever saw. It was two cars crashing into each other for an insurance company.”

Mr. Sherer’s goal is to show people things they have never seen before. Each of his sculptures and signs is well thought out and fabricated over time, some of them taking months to finish. 

“I try to light up the world, one bend at a time.”

TSA’s Community Portal is located at 1401 Adams Street in UpTown Toledo. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Opened in 1999, Toledo School for the Arts, a public “community” (charter) school, has become known statewide and nationally for offering an outstanding academic and artistic education. The TSA student population has grown from 127 students in grades 7-9 when the school opened to some 750 students in grades 6-12 in the 2024-2025 academic year. Our socio-economically diverse student body hails from approximately 65 different public school districts and private, parochial and community schools, as well as homeschool settings, throughout northwest Ohio.