James White

An artist who loves teaching, Professor James White is a sculptor and neon artist who exhibits throughout the U.S. and internationally including in England, Scotland, Japan and China. He earned his BFA and MFA in art at The Ohio University.

Professor White fosters development of conceptual thought and creativity in his students, teaching them the vocabulary and structure of sculpture to allow them to craft their ideas into their own unique visual poetry. He teaches all levels of sculpture, along with architectural sculpture and neon. Professor White is also an expert in technical knowledge.

Many years ago his research and art led him to explore emitted light in his own work. In turn, this experience allowed him, with the help of an ASU Centennial Grant, to establish the ASU Neon Workshop. In this facility, students bend glass tubes and process them into “neon” light and art. This neon facility in sculpture is unique to a handful of art programs in the world.

Just knowing how to make art is only half of artistic life - exhibiting one’s ideas to the world is the other half. Since he joined ASU in 1981, Professor White’s students have been learning to prepare their art for exhibition and even learning to prepare exhibition spaces to show their work. Their extensive exhibition vitas as well as quality finished work have enabled undergraduate alumni to be admitted to the best graduate schools in the world - Yale, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, The Slade (UK), Rhode Island School of Design, UC Davis and many others.

Professor White’s dedication to providing students opportunities to display their work outside the classroom led him to develop exhibition spaces throughout the valley and at ASU, including the Art Department’s Step Gallery, and the Night Gallery housed locally at Tempe Marketplace. These spaces have provided a place for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and alumni to display their work professionally, and have also provided a space for the community to experience the arts and learn about the fine art work being produced at Arizona State University.