OPENING: Leana Quade’s anxiety-producing experimental glass projects on view in Pittsburgh exhibit

The Pittsburgh Glass Center has unveiled an exhibition by glass artist and self-proclaimed mad scientist, Leana Quade, best-known for her coiled glass springs and shattering a flat piece of tempered glass by ratcheting it into a tighter and tighter curve until it explodes. You can experience the nerve-rattling effect of her performance piece Release (2017) in the video below.

Quade’s unconventional creative process involves physical experimentation, pushing materials past the threshold of their common properties. Her approach is meant to evoke a surrealistic effect by allowing viewers the opportunity to perceive glass in a new way. 

Quade has been using glass as her primary medium since receiving her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2003. She has traveled the world, working as an artist and instructor, and recently received her MFA in sculpture/dimensional studies from Alfred University in Alfred, New York. 

In “States of Flux”, the artist explores time, tension and transformation with live demonstration, video projection and installation. One video that will be displayed at the exhibition, titled “Release,” shows Quade tightening an industrial ratchet strap around a panel of glass until it bows to its breaking point. 

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