Viewing articles by Andrew Page

Judith Schaechter, The Life Ecstatic, 2016. Stained glass lightbox. H 31, W 29, D 4 in. courtesy: the artist

Tuesday August 30, 2016 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: A conversation with Judith Schaechter on her upcoming New York City exhibition

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Artist Interviews, Exhibition, New Work, Opening

Judith Schaechter, who employs the radiance of stained glass to present human figures arranged against lushly patterned color fields in poses of transcendence or anguish, will open a solo exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery in the Chelsea area of New York City on September 8th, 2016. Entitled "The Life Ecstatic" the exhibition does not present radical shifts in Schaechter's approach as did her previous exhibition "Dark Matter," which saw a foray into three-dimensional sculpture, or her preceding site-specific architectural installation at the Eastern State Penitentary in Philadelphia, where she installed her works in narrow prison-cell windows. Instead, the upcoming exhibition, which runs through October 15, 2016, represents a return to her career-long project of updating the Gothic tradition of stained glass to plumb the intersection of spiritual longing and psychological torment from a contemporary perspective. Evident in the latest work is how her meticulous craft and expanding ability to render complex narrative works continues evolving in her most intricate and nuanced works to date. The GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet recently caught up with Schaechter for an email interview about her upcoming exhibition.

Friday August 26, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Hot Off the Presses: GLASS #144, Fall 2016

FILED UNDER: Announcements, News, Print Edition

The Fall 2016 edition of GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#144) is hitting newsstands and subscriber mailboxes next week. On the cover is a work by Christina Bothwell who creates sculptural vignettes using cast glass and ceramic elements. In Bothwell's hands, the smooth, shiny aspects of glass are hidden by pocked surfaces or rubbing with oil paints to further dull the finishes. Undimmed is the ability of glass to capture and transmit light, creating a glowing effect that effective serves the work's central themes of transformation, dreams, and the passage of time.

An image of the harbor at Lybster, the fishing village where North Lands Creative Glass is based.

Tuesday August 16, 2016 | by Andrew Page

North Lands fills new position of chief executive, names next artistic director

FILED UNDER: Announcements, News

North Lands Creative Glass, located on the rugged Northeast coast of Scotland, has filled its newly-created position of chief executive, hiring the executive director of RUA RED, a multi-faceted contemporary arts center in Dublin, Ireland. Karen Phillips will leave behind the Irish nonprofit that provided artist studios, art galleries, performance spaces and workshop facilities, to take the helm at North Lands on August 24th, 2016. In partnership with the artistic director, Phillips will be charged with building "upon North Lands reputation as an international centre for creative glass as well as a vital community facility for the people of Lybster and Caithness," according to a statement from Eleanor Hargrave, North Lands marketing officer, issued in response to a query from the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet. "This should build on existing activities and relationships and integrate and develop new ones," according to the statement. Phillips will have a new artistic director to work with this fall, as Emma Woffenden's three-year term in that role will end, and artist and educator Jeffrey Sarmiento will take over starting on October 1st, 2016.

Monday August 15, 2016 | by Andrew Page

3 Questions for ... Leo Tecosky

FILED UNDER: Artist Interviews, Exhibition, New Work

Through September 4, 2016, Leo Tecosky’s exhibition entitled "Flithy Precision" will be on view at the galleries of Glass Wheel Studio in Norfolk, Virginia. Tecosky's work, which freely mixes glassblowing and neon, as well as found and constructed elements, incorporates inspiration from across cultures. His approach is an outgrowth of his interest in travel and wider study. Tecosky holds a BA from Alfred University with a cocentration in fine art, and an MFA from The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. The GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet recently checked in with Tecosky about his latest work and exhibition.

The top works will be exhibited at the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, with the top prize of 10,000-Euro also including a solo exhibition at this Denmark institution.

Sunday August 14, 2016 | by Andrew Page

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Once-a-decade museum competition anoints new talent, offers multiple prizes

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Call for Submissions, Museums, New Work

Since the inaugural “Young Glass” exhibition in 1987, the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark has held an international competitive exhibition of up-and-coming artists every 10 years. The fourth iteration of this juried exhibition, which includes a top award of a 2017 solo museum exhibition and a 10,000-Euro cash prize, is now accepting submissions. With a deadline of December 1, 2016, the competition is open to all students, artists, designers, and craftspeople using glass as a key element in their work. Because of the stated goal to identify new talent, there is a strict age limit. To apply, you must have been born after January 1, 1982, which will mean the finalists will not be over 35 when announced in 2017.

The Visiting Artist residency doubles as a demonstration for visitors to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma hotshop. Pictured: artist Courtney Branam.

Thursday August 11, 2016 | by Andrew Page

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Tacoma Museum of Glass has four open slots for visiting artists in 2017

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Call for Submissions, Museums

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma is accepting applications for four Visiting Artist slots in 2017. The program offers a short (up to 5 days of hotshop time) but intensive opportunity to work with the museum's crew, as well as two days of basic cold-working. While work made during the residency remains the property of the artist, residents are "encouraged to donate two works" — one chosen in consultation with the artistic director for the museum's collection – and the other donated to the annual fundraising auction. Artists are also responsible for their own travel, accommodations, color powders, as well as packing and shipping of all work after the residency.

Thursday August 4, 2016 | by Andrew Page

VIDEO: A calligrapher in Turkey writes out the word “Glass” using a glass shard as pen

FILED UNDER: Seen, Video

A video by Mücahit Aydınhan, a "calligraphy artist" based in İstanbul, Turkey, shows him breaking a sheet of glass with a hammer, selecting the right shaped shard, and then expertly writing the word "Glass" in scarlet red ink. A brief but elegant diversion courtesy of YouTube.

John Kiley's Fractographs (2016) are shattered optical crystal blocks, 21 by 13 1/2 by 3 inches.

Wednesday August 3, 2016 | by Andrew Page

A conversation with John Kiley about his “big break”

FILED UNDER: Artist Interviews, Exhibition, New Work

From Cassandria Blackmore to Marta Klonowska to Yorgos Papadopoulos, there is no shortage of artists who use shattered glass as a central element of their work — but John Kiley, among the best glassblowers in the U.S., has taken a unique approach. Unlike the plate glass used by the previously cited artists, Kiley went for 3-inch thick blocks of optical crystal, which he shattered and then reconstructed, producing a stunning visual record of the violent encounter between a sledgehammer and glass. The aggressive fracture blooms into space like a ribbon of chaotic energy ripping through the serene frame of the thick optically pure crystal. Kiley's recent work already had an undertone of violence as he cut away sections of his exquisitely blown spheres to create architectonic constructions, but there was always a strong measure of restraint. In the newest work, in the painstaking reconstruction of the glass, the rigorous nature of Kiley's practice is preserved. But make no mistake: This work represents a literal and figurative break for the artist sought-after for his signature precision. The GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet caught up with Kiley as he was preparing for the opening of his new exhibition "10,000 MPH" opening this evening at Traver Gallery (and running through August 27, 2016) to talk about this bold new direction. (Editor's note: See the video at end of this post for 360-degree views of the new works.)

Helen Lee's gold award-winning work KowTow.

Wednesday June 29, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Helen Lee takes top honors in Emerge 2016, a juried biennial exhibition organized by Bullseye Glass

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, Exhibition, News

Artist and educator (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Helen Lee took the gold prize at "Emerge 2016," the ninth biennial juried exhibition organized by Bullseye Glass. This year's field saw 370 entries, from which 42 finalists were selected by the jury made up of Bellevue Arts Museum curator Stefano Catalani, artist and educator Kim Harty (College of Creative Studies, Detroit), and Art in America contributing editor and educator (Portland State Universty) Sue Taylor. The competition drew submissions from 16 countries, and jurors were instructed to select work that best represented "creativity, craftsmanship, and design" in object-making using Bullseye Glass.

Sunday June 19, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Reporter shatters misconception of fragility on longest glass footbridge set to open in China

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Design, News, Video

It would take extraordinary strength to breach three sheets of glass laminated together with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), yet high-profile structural applications, such as high-altitude footbridges in China, continue to awe the public who associate glass with fragility and a tendency to shatter. In an effort to dispell this unwarranted fear of walking on glass, a BBC reporter was invited to try to break a structural glass panel shortly before the opening of the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge, which is expected to open in July 2016 in Zhangjiajie, China.

Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly, a glossy art magazine published four times a year by UrbanGlass has provided a critical context to the most important artwork being done in the medium of glass for more than 40 years.