Viewing articles by Andrew Page

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.

Laura Donefer revels in the love her fashion show unleashes in the glass community. photo: dave hickie

Wednesday June 15, 2016 | by Andrew Page

GALLERY: Four-years-in-the-making, Laura Donefer’s glass fashion show at Corning GAS raises the bar

FILED UNDER: Image Gallery, New Work, News

Since her very first glass fashion show in Toronto in 1989, artist Laura Donefer has been cajoling artists to don costumes celebrating their imaginations and their material, which they then parade before an adoring crowd of fellow artists. For the closing-night party of the 2016 Glass Art Society conference last Saturday night, Donefer pulled out all the stops, memorializing the late rock stars Prince and David Bowie in a tightly choreographed sequence of moveable art and music as artists walked the catwalk set up at The Corning Museum of Glass auditorium. Because of the massive crowd of attendees, and a limit of 800 seats in the auditorium, there were two shows for the first time in the 27-year history of Donefer's productions. While the fashion extravaganza generates massive amounts of excitement, attention, and affection for Donefer, the Canadian artist says the epic event does not directly link up with her personal art practice.

Friday June 3, 2016 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: Glass Wheel Studio showcases work by members of its 2016 Studio Artist Program in Virginia

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, New Work, Opening

Since opening in November 2015 in a 8,500-square-foot space in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, Glass Wheel Studio has offered exhibition galleries and affordable studio spaces to artists working in all materials but especially glass, a material that has received special focus in this town thanks to the bold programming and outreach of the Chrysler Museum of Art glass studio. In fact, the first 13 artists admitted to the nonprofit Glass Wheel Studio's "immersive studio practice program," includes several artists with connections to the museum's glass department, including its director Charlotte Potter.

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.