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Following on from the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) successful 25th Anniversary exhibition at the Stourbridge Glass Museum in 2022, we are returning to the Museum with the show ‘New Horizons’ in 2024.

This exhibition will showcase new work that has not been exhibited before, made by over 20 invited artists, using both traditional and modern methods of glass making. This contemporary work challenges and explores the boundaries of glass.

Glassmaking processes including hot glass, casting, kiln formed, pâte de verre, lampworking, neon and stained glass will be represented by the following artists: Anthony Amoako Attam, Emma Baker, Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg, Heike Brachlow, Sarah Brown, Karen Browning, Penny Carter, James Devereux, Catherine Dunstan, Fiaz Elson, Dominic Fonde, Richard Jackson, Verity Pulford, Susan Purser Hope, Laura Quinn, Tim Rawlinson, Opal Seabrook, Ruth Shelley, Angela Thwaites and Brian Waugh.

New Horizons runs for four months from 13 July to 17 November 2024 and coincides with the Stourbridge-based International Festival of Glass and British Glass Biennale, which take place during the summer, so make sure to visit if you are coming to that event. Alongside this stunning display of work, CGS will be running supporting events, including artist talks and an opportunity to meet some of the makers.

This cornucopia of glass work reflects the dynamism and sheer talent of contemporary glass in this country and demonstrates how glass makers continue to develop and challenge our understanding of glass as an artistic medium.

The Stourbridge Glass Museum is an ideal venue to host this display of exemplary contemporary glass from CGS members. As well as highlighting glass from the present day, the Museum houses over 500 items from the internationally renowned Stourbridge Glass Collection, celebrating the heritage of glassmaking locally and internationally.

Stourbridge Glass Museum is at Stuart Works, High Street, Wordsley DY8 4FB, UK. https://www.stourbridgeglassmuseum.org.uk

Main image: HeikeBrachlow’s ‘Dione’ (2023). Photo: Ester Segarra. 

This summer, visit London Glassblowing for an exhibition of contemporary glass paying homage to the beauty of Planet Earth and the need to protect it.

From 7-30 June 2024, ‘Planet Earth: An Ode to Our Wonderful World’ will showcase glass artworks inspired by the wonders of the natural world. This exhibition aims to create a powerful artistic experience that ignites a deeper appreciation for the planet’s magnificence.

Through sculpture, installation and more, almost 30 artists will present a poetic ode to the vibrant landscapes, creatures and ecosystems that make up the rich tapestry of life on Earth. Some also sound an environmental call to action through their interpretation of the escalating effects of climate change.

Exhibiting artists: Amanda Simmons, Andrea Spencer, Scala & Shilling, Bruce Marks, Catherine Dunstan, Cathryn Shilling, Celia Dowson, Claire Hall, Colin Reid, Davide Penso, Deborah Timperley, James Alexander, Jane Reeves, Kate Jones, Kate Pasvol, Katherine Huskie, Layne Rowe, Monette Larsen, Nancy Sutcliffe, Nina Casson McGarva, Olga Alianova, Peter Layton, Rachel Elliot, Ruth Shelley, Sabrina Cant, Stephen Foster, Tim Rawlinson and Verity Pulford.

London Glassblowing is at 62-66 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UD, UK. Find out more here.

Image: Nancy Sutcliffe’s engraved glass will be part of the exhibition.

Contemporary glass works by 15 new and recent graduates will be shown at the General Office Gallery in Stourbridge, West Midlands, from 17 August to 1 September 2024.

The ‘Glass Beginnings’ show is presented in association with the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) and features works by emerging glass artists graduating from a British or Irish accredited course in 2024 or an accredited MA or PhD course in 2023.

The exhibition offers a great opportunity for these makers to be exposed to an international audience during the period of the International Glass Festival in Stourbridge this August, and beyond.

The exhibition will feature works by Dorothy Chan, Charis Constantinou, Roberta De Caro, Jiayun Ding, Maria Donnai, Nancy Farrington, Jo Guile, Suzie Lavender, Sophie Longwill, Kit Martin, Liz Waugh McManus, Lorna McNamara and Bethan Yates.

Also exhibiting are two graduates from the 2022 and 2023 Glass Sellers’ Contemporary Glass Society Glass Prize: Harry Chadwick (runner up) and Thomas Radburn (highly commended).

The works to be displayed span a broad range of techniques, exploring the materiality of glass from contemporary stained glass to pâte de verre, cast glass, laser-engraved and blown glass, often incorporating geological compounds and elements, metals, ceramics and fabrics.

Opening Preview Evening: 17 August 7-9pm

Gallery open 11am-4pm Wednesday-Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday)

On Festival Days (23-26 August), open 10am-5pm daily.

There is also the opportunity to speak to the artists during a Meet the Makers Day on 24 August from 2-5pm.

General Office Gallery is at 12 Hagley Road, Stourbridge DY8 1PS, UK. Website: https://generaloffice.co.uk

NB: The Gallery is on first floor with stair access only.

Image: Suzie Lavender’s ‘Reactions Series III’.

Shital Pattani reviews this contemporary glass exhibition featuring drawings and sculptures by one of Britain’s leading artists working in glass

Taking place at Norfolk’s Corn Hall in Diss (23 March-27 April 2024), this ‘Abstract Figure in Glass’ exhibition of David Reekie’s work masterfully provoked conversation, stimulating discussion by commenting on social and political issues both from a historical and present day perspective. The viewer had the privilege of seeing some of the development process behind the sculptures, which was incredibly insightful. Sources of inspiration, detailed comments written alongside reference material, newspaper cuttings, collages, photographs and historical citations were all carefully documented and displayed. This was a personal presentation, sensitive and representing the character of the artist.

Through his sketchbooks and larger drawings, Reekie illustrated his thought process further. Arguably, this was where the conversation between the artist, paper and the hand of action became animated.  Seeing these details, the visitors could step back and re-examine the sculptures in an informed way and have their own dialogues with each work.

The curation of the exhibition was thoughtful, beginning with a drawing. This ‘Self Portrait’ (1992) featured Reekie looking outwards with intent at the viewers, invitating them to explore his domain: a select group of sculptures covering a 20-year period, together with drawings.

At first glance the gestural and animated figurative sculpture ‘Marionette III’ (2013), seemed playful, but there was a darker message about how human beings are manipulated and pulled in different directions, with societal expectations and pressures influencing their decisions.

‘Point of Detail IV’ (2023) was an unassuming sculpture that possessed intensity; the lens of the artist was finely tuned, focused to clearly see all the details of the precariously balanced object in front. It was as if something was revealed as a result of the piercing concentration. As Reekie stated, ‘The longer you look, the more you see… It is all in the detail.’

In the upstairs exhibition, Reekie shared his expertise and knowledge of mould making and glass casting by exhibiting a series of photographs and models, enabling the non-glass community to understand and appreciate the labour of love involved in making these incredible sculptures.

This show was a revelation and brought the outsider into Reekie’s realm to witness and experience the world from his unique perspective. There was humour, there was playfulness with serious undertones and there was conversation between the works and with the viewer. The exhibition concluded with a final drawing from the ‘Point of Detail’ (2024) series, in which a reflective androgenous figure, bold and solitary but fixed with an intense gaze on the object of choice, commanded a powerful relationship between two unchanging points.

Shital Pattani is a freelance project manager/writer.

Read more about David Reekie in this CGS interview.

Image: ‘A Point of Detail I’ (2023) by David Reekie.