Alison Kinnaird's newest work channels the near-universal experience of social isolation in a time of pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns ordered around the world to control it, have forced all of us inward. With vastly more time spent sequestered in our homes, we've become intimately familiar with every inch of our living space as socialization has been severely curtailed. One artist who's spent the pandemic reflecting on how our lives have changed is exhibiting a new body of work that explores the dual themes of isolation and hope, two sides of what the Spring and Summer of 2020 has been like for many of us. Scottish glass artist and harpist Alison Kinnaird is holding an exhibition of her engraved glass tableaus at her home studio, a repurposed 19th-century church in the village of Temple, 12 miles south of Edinburgh. The exhibition was meant to be a part of the art expo known as The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, however, when the event was canceled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Kinnaird decided to host a solo show in her private studio space. Internationally known for her prolific oeuvre in glass and music, Kinnaird has spent nearly 50 years of her life creating art.

Photo Courtesy: Barry Art Museum

Friday August 14, 2020 | by Arina Novak

Jutta-Annette Page to retire from the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University in October

Jutta-Annette Page has announced her plan to retire from the executive director position at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, effective October 1, 2020. In the official announcement, museum patrons Richard and Carolyn Barry are quoted as saying, “We will sorely miss Jutta and wish her good luck and happiness in her well-deserved retirement.”

Raghvi Bata pictured working on Khatim (Flower). photo: amanda sterling. courtesy: corning museum of glass

Wednesday August 12, 2020 | by Arina Novak

Artist Raghvi Bhatia reflects on her isolated but productive Spring, when the Covid-19 pandemic stranded her at her Corning residency

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives and careers, but for one recent RISD glass graduate, who was awarded a prestigious residency at the Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass, the shutdown in mid-March 2020 resulted in a series of unexpected changes of plans that extended her time in Corning, New York, and ultimately saw her move back to her native India, where she is hoping to reset her career trajectory.

Junko Mori, a 2018 JamFactory artist in residence at work in the studio. courtesy: jamfactory

Tuesday August 11, 2020 | by Arina Novak

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Australian and New Zealand artists vie for the JamFactory's fourth biennial FUSE Glass artist residency

JamFactory has issued a call for applications for the fourth biennial FUSE Glass artist residencies, one of the most prestigious Australian glass art residences, which is awarded to Australian and New Zealand professional, mid-career artists working in glass. The residency will last up to four weeks at JamFactory in Adelaide between March and August 2021, and the deadline for applications is September 11. The successful recipient will be provided with accommodations and an allowance of $2,000 to assist with living expenses. In addition, the travel costs, such as return flights and transfers as well as car travel to and from Adelaide, will be covered by JamFactory, which will also contribute to the return freight for work produced up to a total cost of $1,000.

The studio of Sonoran Glass School.

Tuesday July 28, 2020 | by Arina Novak

How to Reopen Safely: Glass studios share best practices to keep staff and studio users healthy in a time of pandemic

As the Covid-19 pandemic first swept the United States and Canada in the Spring of 2020, glass studios were forced to shut their doors to the public. While studios turned to online classes and exhibitions, announced relief funds, and published extensive lists of resources for artists idled by the shut-down, glass-making professionals waited patiently to get back into the studio workspace equipped with actual furnaces, tools, and equipment to once again work with their chosen material. As state by state, the U.S. tentatively opens its doors, all eyes are on the best practices to follow to keep staff, renters, and students safe from the ongoing threat of contagion. In anticipation of tomorrow's Glass Art Society (GAS) community conversation (online on July 29, 2020 from 11 AM to 12 PM PDT), where panelists Anjali Srinvasan (Massachusetts College of Art and Design), Brian Kibler (UrbanGlass), Brynn Hurlson (Public Glass), Jiyong Lee (Southern Illinois University), and Jens Pfeifer (The Large Glass Department at Gerrit Rietveld Academie) will lead a public discussion, the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet reached out nine studio heads to talk about health and safety in the studio environment.

Anna Mlasowsky adding the Gallery name to her new exhibition space. courtesy: @das.schaufenster

Thursday July 23, 2020 | by Gabriella Sanderson

CONVERSATION: Glass-based performance artist and innovator Anna Mlasowsky on starting a new gallery for emerging artists

A native of Germany, Anna Mlasowsky is an artist, innovator, and newly-minted gallerist who currently resides in the Seattle area. Since the pandemic, she's been faced with new visa requirements and travel bans on the one hand, and the postponement of scheduled residencies and exhibitions on the other. In response to these setbacks, delays, and uncertainties, Mlasowsky has devoted herself to transforming her residence into a gallery space to support emerging artists who are gravely under-represented in the art world, and immigrant artists whose status is made precarious by the pandemic. Via telephone, the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet recently had the opportunity to interview Mlasowsky about her recent projects, her ongoing experiments in glass processes, and her new gallery space.

The exterior of the Museum of Glass with Martin Blank's "Fluent Steps" public artwork in foreground.

Tuesday July 21, 2020 | by Arina Novak

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: The Museum of Glass in Tacoma accepting applicants for its 2021 Visiting Artist Residency Program

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma announced an open call for artists from all mediums to participate in the Museum's2021 Visiting Artist Residency Program, with the caveat that the program will go forward if the pandemic allows institutions to reopen. Each year the Museum invites artists to apply for the Visiting Artist Residency to further their exploration of glass medium or continue working on a current series, and it remains one of the most sought-after opportunities to make work in the field. An example of the program’s notable residents are glass artists Dante Marioni and John Kiley who recently completed a collaborative project at the MOG’s Hot Shop in March of 2020.

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).

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