Erica Rosenfeld, Time Capsule Centerpiece #4 of 26, 2011. Blown Glass, objects from GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly, Carl H.Pforzheimer III, Lino Tagliapietra and Richard Yelle, as well as actual gas and airlines from UrbanGlass. H 16 1/2, D 10 in. $1,500
As Urban Glass makes final preparations for a complete renovation of its Brooklyn, New York, studios, numerous artists and employees have contributed their time, talent, and personal mementos for a project that preserves over three decades of Urban’s history. The 26 limited-edition time capsules that will serve as the centerpieces for its fund-raising auction Fête de Verre that takes place Saturday evening, April 16th. These time capsules house bits and pieces of the studio’s history as interpreted by over 70 artists, collectors, and friends of the organization that have passed through the leading nonprofit open-access glass studio. UrbanGlass-affiliated artist Erica Rosenfeld collaborated with a team of “capsule fabricators” to produce the time capsules that are currently being sold online until Friday April 15. On Saturday April 16 the capsules will be available for sale at the Urban Glass Fête de Verre gala, and can also be reserved online for those anxious to own a piece of Studio Glass history.
The evolution of this project can be traced back to 2009, when UrbanGlass-affiliated artist Laurie Korowitz-Coutu helped conceive of a collaborative centerpiece project that all UrbanGlass artists could participate in. The result was the centerpieces used as the focal point of each table at the 2009 UrbanGlass Glassblowers Ball fundraising event. “It brought the Urban Glass community together, everybody had a hand in it, and it really celebrated who we are as an organization,” said Kristin Solomon, associate development officer at Urban Glass.
This year Solom0n has taken into account the forthcoming renovations that Urban will soon undergo, and with Rosenfeld, the centerpiece project into an installation project. It will not only reflect the talents held within each of Urban’s artists, but that will also highlight the past and future of Urban Glass as an artists community.
Erica Rosenfeld, Time Capsule Centerpiece #15 of 26, 2011. Blown Glass and objects from Joseph Cavalieri, Jessica Jane Julius and Ethan Stern. H 8 x D 6 1/2 in. $750
“We were seeking to do some sort of similar project to bring everybody in the studio together,” says Solomon. “At the same time we’re embarking on this capital campaign renovation project, so I wanted something that would reflect the history of urban glass but also the future.”
While developing her vision, Solomon drew inspiration for the pieces from the work of Rosenfeld. Known widely throughout the Urban community Rosenfeld is also known for her previously produced time capsule pieces. Solomon regards Rosenfeld as the heart of Urban’s social community, a friend for the general Urban population, as well as the perfect woman for the project considering her admitted love for “collecting” which she humorously refers to as “hoarding.”
After agreeing to work on the project together Solomon and Rosenfeld began reaching out to the long list of friends, artists, teachers, board members, and the like who had at one point or another participated in shaping the Urban glass community since its opening.
“We really wanted to reflect the whole community, and the history of Urban thus far, and so it was a lot of reconnecting with people,” says Solomon.
They asked that each person donate a piece of glass work, photo, or any sort of commemorative knick-knack appropriate for a time capsule. “I wanted to really capture the importance of what each artist, and other people, have added to the place, and how they’ve inspired the place as well as been inspired by the place,” says Rosenfeld.
Over time, they received pieces from over 70 artists, friends, and collectors from all over the world including Australia, Seattle, and Louisiana. Artists contributed smaller models of their work, items from their studios, as well as personal items that spoke to inside jokes or intimate experiences shared between UrbanGlass community members.
Erica Rosenfeld, Time Capsule Centerpiece #2 of 26, 2011. Blown Glass, objects from Marc Petrovic, Emma Salamon and Laurie Korowitz-Coutu, found objects. H 21.5 x D 10.5. $1,500
“It was a really great way for people to think about what Urban has meant to them, and to find something within themselves that was symbolic of what this place means to them, and to show them that they really are a part of this organization and it’s history, and that they’re also part of the future,” said Solomon.
The long list of trinkets and artwork included in the capsules include a miniature version of GLASS Quarterly, a small piece of an April Surgent cameo, a floppy disc found containing what Rosenfeld believes is early an early Dale Chihuly portfolio, and a spray paint can top contributed one night while she and artist Leo Tecoscky shared a drink at a bar.
In addition to the pieces that were donated by artists and Urban community members, Rosenfeld collected pieces of the Urban Glass studio that had physically been a part of helping shape the careers of many glass artists that had set foot in the studio, including gas meters, pipes, and gas lines. Each of these rustic pieces of the physical Urban Glass environment contrast the unique, conceptual work donated by each Urban member included in the capsules.
Over the course of the project Rosenfeld worked with Jonathan Chapman, Jamie Harris, Adam Holtzinger, Alex Lozier, Dave Naito, Dena Pengas, Isaac Tecosky, Leo Tecosky, and Jeff Zimmerman blowing glass, polishing, and producing the dome and base pieces for each individual time capsule. Rosenfeld and Solomon recognize the artists time and efforts as a major component to the completion of the project as well as an important aspect of the meaning behind the capsules.
Erica Rosenfeld, Time Capsule Centerpiece #1 of 26, 2011. Blown Glass, objects from Jason Chakravarty and Jamie Harris, found objects. H 15 x D 8 1/2 in. $1,250
“This is my design but a lot of peoples hands were in this,” says Rosenfeld. “So that represents the communal aspect of this place. Not just the finished project, but the actual process of it was incredibly communal.”
Considering the abundance of materials that Rosenfeld and Solomon collected, not all of the items were placed in a capsule that will be available for purchase at Fête de Verre. But the team has decided that to honor every memory contributed by the vast Urban community, a unique, large sclae capsule will be created and filled with the remaining items, and will then be placed in the wall of the new Urban Glass prior to the end of renovations. Rosenfeld and Solomon stress that they appreciate the donations from every person that they reached out to and that because of that appreciation the efforts of each collaborator will not go unnoticed.
As the Fete de Verre gala highlights “priceless” auction items such as dinner with Lino Tagliapietra and a day in Tel Aviv with Litvak Gallery, tge time capsules produced by Rosenfeld and the extensive team of Urban employees, artists, and friends will shine a spotlight on the past, present, and future achievements made and to be made within the larger glass community, and specifically within the confines of the Urban Glass studio.
Those interested in purchasing one of the 26 centerpiece time capsules can visit www.biddingforgood.com/urbanglass, or those attending Fête de Verre can purchase a centerpiece during dinner and cocktails Saturday night by visiting the Centerpiece Sales Area to the right of the event stage.
—Alica Forneret