It was the early 1980s, and the relatively new group of artists working in glass were searching for a fresh direction away from simple techniques and towards a form of expression more attuned to the larger art world. I was one of those artists. On a class trip to New York City, I found myself mesmerized outside the newly opened Heller Gallery in SOHO and discovered an artist that answered all the questions for me. On display was an enormous exhibition of the German artist, Erwin Eisch. Alongside the many paintings and drawings were fabulously interesting glass works unlike any I have seen before. Among others on view were oversized mold-blown human thumbs, painted and lustered complete with thumb prints. I knew then that this work echoed a significant answer that so many had been looking for, sculpture and painting that placed primary importance on the idea of individuality and the role one’s expression can play in forming personal and significant art.
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