Akron, OH – The Akron Art Museum proudly presents Transfiguration: Rachel Libeskind and the Tiffany Window and Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story, which both open to the public on Saturday, January 31.
Transfiguration: Rachel Libeskind and the Tiffany Window is an exhibition offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience a restored historic Tiffany-stained glass window depicting the Transfiguration of Christ, alongside new work by contemporary artist Rachel Libeskind, created specifically for the occasion. Together, the window and Libeskind’s response to it explore how the unimaginable and unseen are depicted across religious iconography, early cinema, and natural transformation.
The window at the center of the exhibition was originally conceived by Frederick Wilson, a leading designer at Tiffany Studios. Active from the 1870s to the 1920s, the studio revolutionized the modern form of window design through innovative techniques to achieve more colors, textures, and depth, enabling Tiffany to redefine the interiors of thousands of houses of worship across the United States.
The Transfiguration window was created for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron and donated by Charles B. and Mary J. Raymond in 1917. More than a century later, a dedicated group of supporters has come together to fund the restoration of this irreplaceable window, under the care and expertise of Whitney-Stained Glass Studio, to ensure its preservation for broader audiences in Akron.
Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story features portraits from three series which aim to understand and share the life-affirming power of relationships in a way that is only possible through photography. In choosing their portrait subjects, Dugan describes a search for “people who are fully and authentically themselves and who have a combination of strength and gentleness.”
This exhibition is organized in celebration of Dugan’s selection as winner of the Akron Art Museum’s 2024 Knight Foundation Purchase Award for Photographic Media.
Transfiguration: Rachel Libeskind and the Tiffany Window will be on view through July 5, 2026, and Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story is on view through July 12, 2026.
For media inquiries, additional photos, or in-person visits, please contact Matt Hribar at mhribar@akronartmuseum.org.