Four glass artists are among 28 makers given funding by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) in its Autumn round of awards. The money will support their training and education, strengthening the future of the UK’s craft industry.
Of the 28 makers, 15 are Scholars, 10 are Emerging Makers (QEST’s newest grant programme) and three are Apprentices.
Recent Contemporary Glass Society feature artist Eddy Bennett receives the QEST D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Scholarship to develop his reverse glass sign painting skills.
Eddy will embark on one-on-one training with David Smith MBE, learning brilliant cutting as well as the skills for traditional silvering for mirror making – techniques Eddy says have been on his ‘to do’ list to master. Eddy will learn how to perform V cuts, edge cuts, punties, ovals and more. He will therefore be able to create mirrors in his own studio, using David’s formula.
Co-founder, director and manager at The Glass Hub, KT Yun will use her QEST scholarship award to fuse art with science to make insects out of glass. She will undertake a training programme with four specialist glass makers: Helga Watkins Baker, Scott Benefield (QEST Alumni), Andrea Spencer (QEST Alumni) and Steve Frey. KT will work with these four makers to explore kiln forming, hot glass ‘pick-ups’, flame working and cold-working techniques, alongside other technical skills that push the boundaries of glass making.
KT aims to use her new knowledge to produce a body of work for the Natural History Museum in 2025.
Catherine Dunstan and Annahieta Seyed alizadeh oskooi are two of the recipients of the new Emerging Maker grants.
Catherine has an MA in Glass from the University for the Creative Arts. She specialises in pattern-making with glass. She is a self-employed glass artist, author, teacher and mentor who is eager to develop her skills in the hot shop.
Her QEST training will involve four days at the Devereux & Huskie hot shop with tutor and QEST Alumni Katherine Huskie. Catherine will focus on advancing skills in hot sculpting and glass blowing techniques, to expand on the expertise gained during her MA studies. Hands-on training will allow Catherine to learn various glass handling and sculpting techniques, including pick-ups, torch work, tooled manipulation, and annealing.
Annahieta Seyed alizadeh oskooi is the QEST Garfield Weston Foundation Emerging Maker. She is a self-taught sign writer and reverse glass gilder passionate about combining water gilding and signwriting with a modern twist.
Her QEST funding will enable her to participate in a five-day workshop with master gilder Richard Walker, learning how to apply gold leaf and other metals to glass, creating decorative effects, blending colours and drawing into gold to make bespoke pieces of art.
Annahieta will also take a year-long programme with her mentor and sign writer Beccy Roberts, undertaking weekly practice sessions covering letter formation, typography, kerning, marbling, font memorisation, 3D lettering and more.
The next round of QEST funding applications opens at 10am on Monday 8 January and closes at 5pm on Monday 12 February 2024. For more information click here.
Image: Glass work by KT Yun, whose ambition is to represent the beauty of the insect world in glass and in doing so, pursue an evolution in glassmaking.
Irish and European artists and artisans (but sadly not British ones) are invited to apply for the European Prize for Applied Arts 2024, to be held in Belgium.
Launched in 2009, in partnership with the City of Mons in Belgium, the WCC-Europe and supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the European Prize for Applied Arts rewards creations of contemporary expression in the field of applied arts and craft design.
This competition is open to all artists working in the field of applied arts and crafts residing in a country that is a member of the Customs Union of the European Union and not subject to customs charges for transport to and from Belgium. Eligible countries are: Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The works selected for the competition must be of a high standard, both technically and aesthetically, as well as innovative.
There are two prizes: €3,500 awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and €3,500 awarded by WCC-Europe.
The deadline for applicaations is 14 January 2024.
The award ceremony takes place on 23 November 2024, with the exhibition open from 24 November 2024 to 16 February 2025.
The location for the event is Les Anciens Abattoirs, 17/02, rue de la Trouille, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
Find out more about the rules here and apply using this form.
Stained glass artists and students are invited to enter the prestigious Reflections of The Lord Mayor (#LMReflects) Professional Stained Glass Artists competition.
This is an opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind roundel design to commemorate Alderman Nicholas Lyons’s mayoralty as the 694th Lord Mayor of the City of London (2022-23).
The brief is to design and craft a nine-inch diameter masterpiece using stained and painted glass. The design should also be accompanied by a compelling narrative that brings its story to life and resonates with the Lord Mayor speaker.
This latest competition is open to seasoned stained glass artist or those on a glass education programme and is an opportunity to showcase talent and be part of an event that celebrates the beauty of stained and painted glass.
Submissions are open from 8 January 2024 to 8 March 2024.
Hear Alderman Nicholas Lyons’s call for entries in a video via this link.
For more details and to submit your entry (from 8 January), click here.
The British Society of Master Glass Painters (BSMGP) has announced a competition to design and make a stained glass window for the RAF Club in London’s Piccadilly.
The competition is open to emerging artists of any age resident in the UK who have yet to undertake major commissions and expressions of interest are needed by 12 January 2024.
Up to four artists will be selected from the applicants to visit the site and produce a design, with each artist receiving a modest fee of £300. The selected artists will be paired with an experienced mentor to help guide them through the process.
The brief is to depict the badge of the RAF Auxiliary Squadron and the choice of technique is open, from traditional to modern.
Shortlisted applicants will be announced on 2 February 2024 and will be invited to visit the RAF Club the following week. Designs must be submitted by the end of March.
A judging panel of representatives drawn from the BSMGP, the RAF Club, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and the Beaverbrook Foundation (who are funding the commission) will select the winning design from the shortlisted entries.
The winning piece must be completed by the middle of July 2024.
All entrants must be BSMGP members. Anyone wishing to take part who is not yet a member can join here.
Full details and expressions of interest via this link.
Dutch stained glass artist Ellen van Dijk is pushing the traditional boundaries of the medium and showing, through her finely detailed portraits, that old techniques have their place in contemporary settings. Linda Banks finds out more.
You have enjoyed drawing and painting portraits from a young age. What led you to start working with glass?
I knew since childhood that I wanted to pursue a creative career, though I was never quite sure what exactly. I started drawing and painting portraits when I was 11 or 12 years old. I enjoyed doing that a lot at first but, eventually, I lost interest, leading to a break from art. I guess I felt uninspired.
At 15, after earning my high school diploma, here in the Netherlands, I had to choose a college path. I ended up in a restorative and decorative painting programme, which seemed to make the most sense to me at the time. During this period, I stumbled upon stained glass, as my programme had a semester dedicated to it. I had always admired the beautifully painted church windows, but it hadn’t occurred to me that it could be a career until then. Something clicked for me after those classes.
Post-diploma, I enrolled in a part-time stained glass course in Antwerp, Belgium. The blend of craftsmanship and artistic expression made me feel inspired again. The whole process – from sketching to choosing glass, cutting, potentially incorporating painted elements, to leading, soldering and puttying – presented a challenge that I found, and still find, incredibly rewarding. It’s the ongoing puzzle of creating a stained glass window that keeps the excitement alive for me – it just never loses its charm.
Delicate painting contrasts with the strong, geometric background glass in this piece called ‘Blue’.
What glass techniques have you used and which do you prefer?
During my training in Belgium, I learned the basics of various stained glass techniques: leading, Tiffany, glass painting, fusing and a bit of restoration. After about two years, I went to work for one of the largest stained glass studios in the Netherlands, where the focus was mainly on restoring church windows. There, I delved into aspects like restoration ethics, bonding glass with UV light or two-component adhesive, and the cold retouching of painted glasswork.
‘Sweet Melancholy’ was made in 2022.
While I find the restoration of stained glass incredibly fascinating and educational, I’ve discovered that my true passion lies in creating my own work. This allows me to let my creativity run wild. All my work involves both extensive glass painting and leading. Sometimes, for smaller projects where lead would be too bulky, I use copper foil.
I’m eager to gain more experience in acid etching on glass, although I must admit it feels a bit intimidating to work with hydrofluoric acid. The results are always stunning though. Currently, when I want to etch something, I use a Dremel with a diamond bit, a technique I picked up from Judith Schaechter. It gives perfect results, but is also notably time-consuming, unfortunately – especially when dealing with larger areas that need grinding.
Work in progress. This piece was a commissioned stained glass window.The finished piece, which was made for clients in northern Finland.
What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
My creative process usually starts with a mental picture that I try to bring to life through photography, turning abstract ideas into something real. I often ask friends or family to pose for me. My ideas may be fuzzy initially, but they come to life during a photo session or a sketch. After that, I scale up the design and begin outlining the lead lines. I prefer using the computer program Glass Eye 2000, as it saves me a lot of time. When it comes to selecting glass, I try to use whatever I have in my inventory at that moment, even if it means thinking a bit outside the box. I try to spend as little time as possible on planning, although that approach can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
‘Family Portrait’ is a recent piece and features several generations (2023).
What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
That’s always a tricky one for me. I guess it’s probably because I don’t think consciously about conveying a particular message; I usually just follow my intuition. But I do aspire to be more conscious about it eventually.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people, at least in my environment, still link stained glass primarily with religious contexts. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I’d like to show people with my artwork that stained glass can absolutely fit into contemporary art as well.
Ellen’s masterful portrait contrasts with the soft, pastel-coloured glass background.
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
I’ve built up quite a collection of specific tools that I can’t do without now, and I love discovering new, sometimes unconventional, tools to use in my work. For instance, Christina Alvner, a talented glass artist from Sweden, introduced me to working with porcupine quills, which work perfectly for scratching into dry paint. Recently, I’ve also started using tattoo needles, especially the shading ones, which are great for crosshatching. Another tool I couldn’t do without is my tracing brush; it’s from the Da Vinci 5519 series and it’s my absolute favourite. Or my painter’s bridge, which was custom-made by my father.
Each piece of glass is painstakingly painted. Photo: Tumbleweed & Fireflies Photography.
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
My favourite piece is probably the one I’m currently working on, which is the one with the girl laying on her bed with a dog and a cat. I’ve been wanting to collaborate with a friend of mine as a model for a while. Impulsively, we chose a moment for a photo session without me having a clear idea of what I wanted. I was not even using a proper camera but just my iPhone camera, but after a couple of minutes of shooting the perfect image emerged naturally. I think it’s my favourite because it came about so spontaneously, making the piece feel personal and a little intimate.
Ellen’s current favourite artwork in progress.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a creative career?
It’s a huge cliché, but I do believe that the most crucial thing is to follow your own voice and passion. Both of these things will shine through in the work you create, giving it an authentic quality.
Also, when starting a creative career, you’ll undoubtedly receive a lot of well-intentioned (and perhaps sometimes unsolicited) advice from those around you. Navigating your way around that can be a bit daunting at times. Try not to let it throw you off balance and do whatever feels right for you.
And lastly, try to make the most of social media platforms like Instagram. Regularly updating your feed can feel like a bit of a chore sometimes but, ultimately, it does provide so many good connections and opens a lot of new doors!
Ellen captures a realistic, 3D effect in her portraits.
Where is your practice heading next?
Currently, I primarily teach stained glass painting workshops and work on commissioned pieces on the side. What I really appreciate about teaching is that it keeps you on your toes, constantly learning new things and building connections with other passionate glass artists. However, eventually I would like to transition towards being able to focus more on creating commissioned works, whether it be for individuals or for stained glass studios looking to outsource their painting work.
I enjoy expressing myself through creating personal artworks. It’s wonderful not having to consider anyone else’s preferences and making something purely based on my own intuition and feelings. When the time comes, I would love to explore possibilities for collaborations with art galleries, although I currently find it challenging because I feel that stained glass art doesn’t yet have the spotlight it deserves in the world of contemporary art.
Ellen van Dijk is keen to create more of her own designs.
Find out more about Ellen and her work via her website and social media:
Accomplished Czech glass artist Josef Marek focuses on simplicity of shape, enriched with cold working techniques like cutting and polishing, on the surface and within, to create his mesmerising work that transports the viewer. Linda Banks finds out more.
What led you to start working with glass?
As a boy, I was impressed by a polished crystal Eiffel Tower sculpture, with reflections that created a 3D image inside the glass. What an illusion that was!
Later, my father sent me to study at glass school and from that point I knew this was what I wanted to do. In those days I had the great example and influence of living glass pioneers from the Czech Republic’s glass movement, such as Jan Fisar, René Roubíček and Professor Kopecký, as well as many other respected artists who were using glass as a fine art material.
‘Empire 2’ stands a metre tall. It was cast in a mould, glue chipped, sandblasted and polished.
What glass techniques have you used, and which do you prefer?
I use mostly remelted glass in the mould as I need to work on the shape longer without the stress of burning too much gas, as some blowers are trying successfully. However, I am familiar with all glass techniques. The method I choose depends on the effect I need for a particular artistic expression.
‘Fusion’ contrasts smoothness and texture.
You have travelled widely. How has this influenced your glass work?
While living in Japan, Japanese culture shaped my aesthetics, and my work became purer and simpler. It began to reflect the serenity of the Japanese Alps, Mount Fuji, the beauty of, and principles behind, their gardens, as well as the old wooden shrines that were built without any nails.
The pure lines of his work are influenced by time spent in Japan.
What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
First, I imagine my ideas in my head, whenever I have a bit of free time. Then I must certainly draw them out, in order to resolve any possible problems that could come up later with the material, as well as to ensure that the design is exactly what I want. Sometimes the dreams are impossible to draw. There are many unrealised drawings that have not materialised. Once I am satisfied with the drawing, I can move on to prepare the 3D model and mould for casting.
What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
Well, this is quite a question. I do not know what I want to say through the art. I want people seeing my work to feel transported to a different world, to have their tired minds refreshed and taken away from the everyday routine of the three dimensional, non-spiritual world.
I know that through this extraordinary material I can create illusions that show reality through different eyes. This material has very special, magical characteristics. For me, it is the material form of an ideal Platonic world. There is something in it that can only be felt, not seen, or spoken.
‘Cross’ draws the viewer in with its angular design.
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
Usually, my newest sculpture is my most favourite at the time. It is important for me to have a few works on display, so I can learn from them and develop ideas.
‘Man Rock’ makes a bold statement.
Where do you show and sell your work?
My work is in major galleries, museums, private art collections and foundations.
The strong colour and form of ‘Visitor’ make it a statement piece.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a creative career?
if you mean a career working with glass, I think it is almost impossible. I would not be able to start my own studio now. Today the situation is completely different from 30 years ago when we were starting out. To set up a studio requires a lot of investment and the results do not pay back quickly. So, if there is no rich sponsor, it is better to have another occupation or business generating enough income to support glass as a creative hobby.
The biggest disadvantage of working with glass is the cost. This is the biggest barrier to using glass freely for fine art expression, with the exception of the Arte Povera – or ‘poor art’ – approach, of course.
This piece is called ‘Basalt’ and demonstrates Josef’s skill with cold working techniques.
And finally…
I am excited to announce the launch of a new glass studio and gallery – 3MJArt – in the Czech Republic, featuring a permanent exhibition and sale of contemporary art by my partner Malvina Middleton and me. 3MJArt is at: Jablonné v Podještědí Zdislavy z Lemberka 145, Czech Republic. Open by appointment.
It is my pleasure to be member of the Contemporary Glass Society and to connect with so many creative people. I am looking forward to participating in future CGS exhibitions!
About the artist
Josef transfers the ideas in his head onto paper before realising them in glass.
Between 1978 and 1982 Josef Marek was educated at the Kamenický Šenov secondary school of glass art. From 1982 to 1986 he worked as a glass worker at Crystalex in Nový Bor. He was also an art and craft teacher, SOÚ sklářské, Kamenický Šenov, before joining experimental glass studio Umělecká řemesla, in Prague, as designer and director of art glass (1989-1990).
After the ‘Velvet Revolution’ of 1989, when admission to a school was not based on political views, he was accepted at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. From 1990-1996 he studied Glass in Architecture at the University of Arts and Architecture, Prague, with a year at Alfred University in New York, US, from 1994-1995.
Between 1997 and 2000 he was visiting professor at Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Japan.
He has exhibited around the world. His work is in international, public collections and he has won many prizes and awards.
Today, Josef splits his time between the Czech Republic and Cyprus.
In January 2024, a unique exhibition of work by internationally acclaimed Pâte de Verre glass artists will be showing at Stourbridge Glass Museum in the West Midlands, UK. The exhibition is based on the comprehensive book Pâte de Verre: The Material of Time, by Dr Max Stewart and Tone Ørvik, which was published in 2022.
The exhibition opens on 27 January 2024 with a private view and runs until June 2024.
The works of Emma Varga (Australia), Alicia Lomné (US), Keith Cummings (UK) and other pioneers of contemporary Pâte de Verre will be part of the show.
For this exhibition Stourbridge Glass Museum is cooperating with the Contemporary Pâte de Verre Association (CPdVA), which works to support new investigations into Pâte de Verre and present what this glass technique can do in sculpture and creating new narratives for a rapidly changing world.
CPdVA was set up by Max and Tone, with US-based glass artists Evelyn Gottschall Baker and Tali Grinshpan. It offers conferences, workshops and exhibitions worldwide.
Stourbridge Glass Museum, Glass Museum Stuart Works, High St, Wordsley, Stourbridge DY8 4FB, UK.
A new London exhibition, ‘The Glass Heart’, will bring together key regional collections, techniques and artists for the first time at Two Temple Place. Opening in January 2024, the show will present more than 100 glass artworks, spanning 170 years of creativity in the field.
It will highlight works from the UK’s historic industrial glass heartlands of Stourbridge in the Black Country and Sunderland in the North East, alongside the contemporary home of stained glass at the Stained Glass Museum in Ely. It will explore the narratives central to glass art and manufacturing, and celebrate the timeless skills, artistry and innovation required to work with this challenging material.
Tracing a unique chronology of glass production through both industrial and artistic developments, the exhibition will demonstrate how distinctive styles were synonymous with regional stories and social histories. From cameo vessels featuring classical and mythological subject matter, to etched and engraved vases and commemorative goblets, the exhibition will examine the qualities of this reflective, expressive and sculptural form.
Artists showcased will include Anthony Amoako-Attah, Edward Burne-Jones, Monster Chetwynd, Brian Clarke, Chris Day, Ryan Gander, Wilhelmina Geddes, Hardman & Co, Sam Herman, Alison Kinnaird, Peter Layton, Harvey Littleton, Pinkie Maclure, William Morris, Anne Vibeke Mou, John Piper, Ayako Tani, Christopher Whall and Emma Woffenden.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a programme of cultural events for adults and children, including talks, lectures, demonstrations and workshops.
The Glass Heart is a Two Temple Place exhibition, produced in partnership with Stourbridge Glass Museum, the Stained Glass Museum, Ely and National Glass Centre, Sunderland.
‘The Glass Heart’ is on from 27 January-21 April 2024 and admission is free. Opening Times are: Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday 11am-6pm; Wednesday Late 11am-9pm; Sunday 11am-4:30pm. Closed on Mondays and Easter Sunday.
Two Temple Place is a magnificent and eccentric neo-Gothic mansion in central London, owned and run by registered charity the Bulldog Trust.
A travelling exhibition to raise awareness of the diminishing wild salmon and steelhead fish populations, called ‘The Salmon School’, has returned to The Museum of Glass in Tacoma in the US.
Organized by artist Joseph Rossano and curated by Benedict Heywood, the show is an international, multimedia traveling art performance and exhibition designed to motivate communities to tackle the issues facing salmon populations, and therefore, address climate change. The installation features a life-size school of close to 600 mirrored salmon-like forms, sculpted from molten glass by concerned artists from around the world, and accompanied by first-hand video accounts from renowned scientists, artists, and indigenous peoples. These fragile forms of mirrored glass reflect not only the environment on which the fish depend, but also the viewer: both the cause of the problems confronting salmon today and the solution.
The Salmon School was created and first exhibited in 2019 at Bellevue Arts Museum. At the time, the project was a collaboration between the Museum of Glass, Bellevue Arts Museum, Hilltop Artists, Schack Art Center, Trout Unlimited, Glacier Peak Institute, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The exhibition, informed by tribal elders from the Upper Skagit Tribe, quantified the diminished state of wild salmon and steelhead populations on the Skagit River.
In November 2021, the project was a keynote presentation at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (UN COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. In partnership with the Missing Salmon Alliance, other wild Atlantic salmon NGOs, and the River Clyde Foundation, eDNA workshops took place on the regenerated River Clyde, where Glasgow is situated.
Rossano commented on the opportunity to exhibit the project in front of world leaders at the conference: “My intention with my work has always been to make meaningful statements that combine material and location, offering a relatable context for the viewer. The idea of exhibiting 0.1% of all the wild Atlantic salmon left in the North Atlantic over the heads of 100% of the individuals who could make a difference for wild salmon and humans was a massive undertaking. Now that it has happened, another level of importance has been added to the project — along with the potential to make real change in the world.”
Subsequently, The Salmon School began to travel. In the summer of 2022, it was exhibited at Balmoral Castle, the private Scottish residence of the British Royal Family. It was the first work of contemporary sculpture to be exhibited at that historic site. With the support of the Balmoral Estate and the River Dee Trust, eDNA collection took place on the River Dee. In winter 2023, with the support of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the exhibition was displayed at The Macallan Distillery in Speyside, Scotland.
Exhibition curator Benedict Heywood stated, “The Salmon School is a worldwide art and science collaboration aiming to highlight the imminent threat to wild salmon across the Northern hemisphere. As was demonstrated by its inclusion in the United Nations COP26 conference in 2021, the threat of extinction for wild salmon is indicative of the wider impact of the climate crisis. Wild salmon need what we need: cold, clean water. It has been a privilege to so closely work with Joseph Rossano, Museum of Glass, and so many partners and concerned individuals in Europe and North America to realize this artwork and science program. A charismatic sculptural installation of living mirrors that asks the viewer to look and reflect on their own actions in the real world, The Salmon School is an exemplar of the concept that art can change lives.”
The Salmon School continues to offer perspective on the sustainability issues facing wild salmon today, as it returns to the Museum of Glass. Visitors will find an interactive educational experience, and one that is unique to the Museum, as the installation is composed to respond to each distinctive space it occupies.
The Museum of Glass Education Department has partnered with Foss Waterway Seaport and Tacoma Public Schools to offer an education programme to primary school children, sending salmon tanks to schools and allowing students to raise and then release salmon in Swan Creek while learning about the importance of salmon within the ecosystem.
The Salmon School will be on view at Museum of Glass until Autumn 2024.
The Museum of Glass is at 1801 Dock Street, Tacoma, WA 98402, US.
Image: Detail of ‘The Salmon School’ by Joseph Gregory Rossano. Blown and mirrored glass. Photo: C B Bell, courtesy of the artist and Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA.
Glass artists from the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand region have been acknowledged in the recent World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Region Craft Masters Awards 2023 (WCC APR Craft Masters Awards), hosted in Dongyang, China.
The Australian recipients who work in glass are Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM and Kirstie Rea.
An international jury of 11 members evaluated each application based on five endorsement criteria: extraordinary contribution to field, sustainable practice, international recognition, continuous learning and international collaboration.
Winners included nine craftspeople from Central Asia, nine from the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific islands), seven from South Asia, eight from West Asia (including Dadash Mehravary Solut from Iran, who is a glass painter), seven from Southeast Asia and 20 from East Asia.
Jenni Kemarre Martiniello OAM is a contemporary urban based Aboriginal (Arrernte) glass artist, who creates traditionally inspired works that pay tribute to traditional weavers and provide recognition for ancient cultural practices through the contemporary medium of glass.
Jenni is a major figure in Indigenous art in Australia and continues to work with and inspire many fellow and emerging artists. She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the creative and visual arts in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022.
‘Bush Flower Bicornual: Banksia and Bottlebrush with Grasses’ (2021), by Jenni Kemarre Martiniello OAM, features hot blown glass with murrine. Photo: Sabbia Gallery.
Kirstie Rea has been practising for over 30 years and her work is held in some of the world’s most important public and private contemporary art collections. She says, “At the core of my practice lies the desire to seek an understanding of our often tenuous connections to place. Walking in places beyond urban environments, seeking solitude and distance, photography and writing have become tools to inform my making.”
Kirstie has taught internationally at the Australian National University Glass Workshop, in United States at Pilchuck Glass School, the Corning Studio, and Pittsburgh Glass Centre; North Lands Creative Glass in Scotland, and Vetroricerca School in Italy. In 2009, Kirstie was awarded Honorary Life Membership of Ausglass, the national organisation of Australian glass artists.
Works by both Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM and Kirstie Rea are held by Sabbia Gallery.
Sabbia Gallery is at: Ground Floor, 609 Elizabeth Street, Redfern, NSW 2016, Australia.
Main image: Kirstie Rea’s ‘What remains’ (2019), folded glass, plinth. Photo: David Paterson.
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