The GLASSAC conference touches on research and innovations in the more scientific side of glass art. courtesy: glassac
This May, a monastery in southern Germany will play host to scientists, artists, and conservators from around the world looking to learn about everything from the history of Pyrex cast-glass blocks and color-matching software for designers and glass artists to the relevance of ancient Egyptian mosaic techniques for modern-day artists and the use of X-ray tomography to observe stained glass at the Chartres Cathedral in France. These topics, and many more, form the strong program of the third Glass Science in Art and Conservation (GLASSAC) conference, which aims to celebrate and discuss the intersections between science, glass art, and conservation.
With a focus on the development of innovative technologies in the fields of glass art, design, and conservation in the last two centuries, this year’s conference will take place May 10th through 12th at the Bronnbach Monastery near Würzburg, Germany, home to the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC. The goal is to find “optimal solutions to conserve historical glass and to work with modern glass, which shall endure for centuries without any loss of quality.” The conference is packed with presentations and includes a tour of the historic monastery and Wuerzburg as well as an exhibition of Studio Glass works from the Glasmuseum Wertheim and the Glashaus Ittig Wertheim.
The exhibition at the 2008 conference included this large work by Carlos Muñoz de Pablos. courtesy: glassac
GLASSAC grew out of a 1999 conference in Lisbon, Portugal called “Glass, Art and Science” at which participants recognized a growing need for members of the glass community to share and discuss issues and innovations in the field of historical glass conservation. The first conference convened in Lisbon in 2005, followed by a second conference in 2008 in Valencia, Spain, where almost 200 professionals from around the world met to share research, analyze significant developments in the field, and discuss the ethical and practical dilemmas they deal with on a day-to-day basis. It included an exhibition of works by Carlos Muñoz de Pablos, a prominent glass artist and conservator from Segovia, Spain.
Click here to check out a list of presentation topics, or download a PDF of the conference invitation.
—Grace Duggan
interesting glass exhibition: THE LANGUAGE OF THE
MATTER. Carlos Muñoz de Pablos: glassworking
painter, will take place during the conference.