Thursday July 16, 2020 | by Arina Novak

As pandemic persists, art and craft fairs continue shift to virtual alternatives in 2020

The very things that combined to fuel the ascent of art and craft fairs -- teeming crowds, new connections between collectors from far and wide and gallery reps, in-person appearances by artists, a place to survey the art landscape under one roof -- are making these large-scale events ill-suited to the social-distancing guidelines as the United States continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the 2019 report of The Art Basel and UBS Market, “art fairs continue to be a central part of the art market,” as art-fairs proliferated from fewer than 60 in the early 2000s to almost 300 today. In 2020, the pandemic has upended the art fair phenomenon, and the in-person events have given way to online alternatives. While some museums and art galleries are opening to the public with careful measures to ensure social-distancing, many art fairs are migrating to virtual interations.

Steffen Dam, ‘toilettransformation’, 2020.
Permanent installation. photo courtesy of https://glasmuseet.dk/presse/?lang=en

Wednesday July 15, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

INSTALLATION: "Journey to M31" permanent exhibit by Steffen Dam at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft features glass cabinet

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Events, Exhibition, News, Opening

Journey to M31, A Toilet Transformation by Steffen Dam is a new site-specific permanent installation at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, a contemporary glass museum in Denmark. Dam is a Danish artist who's been working with glass for over 30 years. Originally trained as a toolmaker, Dam merges casting and grinding techniques from other mediums, and has pioneered a unique body of work that frequently references aquatic specimens. The installation, his most comprehensive work to date, was made possible through a donation from The New Carlsberg Foundation. It occupies the former restroom on the first floor of the museum and the artist, who is represented in the U.S. by New York's Heller Gallery, suggests it be considered as a sort of 'Cabinet of Curiosities.'

Erdos uses a 50-pound ladle to pour the molten glass onto the steel armature. courtesy: the chimney, new york

Tuesday July 14, 2020 | by Gabriella Sanderson

INSTALLATION: Andrew Erdos unveils monumental commission at Brooklyn gallery

Andrew Erdos, an American sculptor based in Brooklyn, New York, has been experimenting with the medium of glass since he was 15 years old. Now 35, he has just unveiled his latest work, a monumental mixed-media work entitled Not for the Peak, but for the Mountain (2020), which was commissioned by and is being exhibited at The Chimney Gallery, NYC. Since June 2015, The Chimney Gallery, based in Brooklyn, New York, has been exhibiting both multidisciplinary and international artists in various exhibition venues in the United States, France, Mexico and Senegal. They re-purpose historical and industrial buildings to house their exhibitions in addition to artist workshops, live events and art professionals talks. The sculpture was made at his alma mater Alfred University's National Casting Center. (Erdos holds a 2007 BFA from Alfred University).

Friday July 10, 2020 | by Gabriella Sanderson

PREVIEW: Virtual studio tour and artist talk with Martin Janecký

Czech-born Martin Janecký is a renowned contemporary glass artist whose uncannily realistic glass sculptures have left audiences speechless. On Saturday, July 11 at 1 pm EST, the Czech-born artist is offering an opportunity to virtually touring his new studio space in Prague where the artist will also discuss his upcoming and current works. The virtual visit is organised by the Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Toronto.

Opeyemi "Ope" Omojola is increasingly incorporating glass into her jewelry works. courtesy: the artist

Thursday July 9, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

Jewelry-artist Opeyemi Omojola reflects on business, the Bead Project, and wisdom in times of uncertainty

Opeyemi "Ope" Omojola was an artist-in-residence at the UrbanGlass Bead Project in the Fall of 2019 (Disclosure: The Hot Sheet is a program of the nonprofit art center UrbanGlass.) and she is looking forward to returning to the studios as borosilicate glass is figuring more and more into her work. Omojola owns Octave Jewelry, a company that is inspired by the balance between sharp geometry and soft organic form, showcasing kinetic pieces are inspired by both the infinite malleability of metal and the permanence of stone.

Wednesday July 1, 2020 | by Arina Novak

OPENING: New collaborative work by John Kiley and Dante Marioni at Schantz Galleries fuses two visions into singular objects of precision and contemplation

A chance meeting between a chef apprentice and a leading American glassblower became a unique creative partnership that's evolved over decades from apprentice to assistant to full artistic collaborator. Both John Kiley and Dante Marioni are among the most-skilled American practitioners of traditional Italian glassblowing and acolytes of legendary Italian maestro Lino Tagliapietra. But each is advancing his uniquely contemporary approach to the time-honored process — Kiley in cutting away and exploding form, Marioni in taking vessels to new levels of scale and complexity of surface patterning. An opportunity to join forces in an aesthetic adventure came when they won a week-long residency at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, which went ahead even as the Covid-19 pandemic first took root in Washington state last March. They were the last residency to be completed before a state-wide shutdown that remains in effect.

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photo courtesy of the Pilchuk Glass School Facebook page.

Sunday June 28, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

Pilchuck Glass School announces cancellation of all 2020 programming, teaching artists to be paid anyway thanks to generous donor

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Education, Events, News

With the uncertainty around containing the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States in general, and Washington state in particular, Pilchuck Glass School has announced it is cancelling all of its summer and fall programs and residencies for 2020. Included in the announcement was the positive news that an anonymous donor has gifted Pilchuck with sufficient funds to pay all artists who had been scheduled to teach the cancelled classes.

Nate Watson is the executive director of Public Glass in San Francisco, as well as an artist, educator, and activist.

Sunday June 28, 2020 | by Andrew Page

INTERVIEW: Nate Watson expands on his public statement on the glass-art field's lack of representation

UPDATED 6/28/20 7 PM In the first weeks of June, as Black Lives Matter protests swept the U.S. and the world, the Glass Art Society received a letter from artist, executive director, and educator Nate Watson, who provided a sharp critique of the glass-art community as a place with a lot of work to do to diversify. The letter was deemed so urgent, GAS published it online in advance of the release of its regularly scheduled newsletter.

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An example of Allison Eden's fashion-forward face masks. courtesy: allison eden studios

Saturday June 27, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

From mosaics to masks, Brooklyn designer Allison Eden shifts gears during pandemic from glass to fabric

Brooklyn-based glass architectural and interior designer Allison Eden, who has been designing handmade glass and tile mosaics in New York City, has started a new artistic venture: fashionable mask-making. Graduating in 1995 with a degree in fashion from FIT, Eden originally parlayed her clothing design skills to elaborately patterned glass tile mosaics, which have attracted a celebrity clientele. With the downturn in the home design business during the pandemic, Eden has refocused her design studio on a fashion-forward mask line, which started as her personal effort to stay safe at a museum opening as the pandemic started to arrive in NYC in March 2020.

photo courtesy of https://www.glassart.org/

Tuesday June 23, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

After a successful virtual conference, The Glass Art Society seeks diverse proposals for next year's 50th-anniversary conference in Tacoma, Washington

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Call for Submissions, Events, News

The 2021 Glass Art Society conference in Tacoma, Washington, was announced at the close of its successful first-ever Virtual Conference last month. Free and open to the public, the 2020 online event included awards ceremonies, demos, panel discussions, lectures, tours, and happy hours via live-stream and recorded video. Next year's event is planned to be an in-person gathering and proposals are now being accepted. The 2021 Conference will mark the organizations 50th year, and the landmark event is set to take place from May 19th through May 22nd. In a reflection of greater awareness of the work the glass-art field needs to do, the artist organization is encouraging presentations from diverse voices.

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.