The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2022 has launched, with an exhibition of European contemporary glass at the Veste Coburg Art Collections and the European Museum of Modern Glass in Rödental, Germany, from 10 April to 25 September 2022.
From 400 applications, 90 artists were selected for the exhibition. From these, an international jury selected seven award winners.
The first prize, worth 15,000 Euros, went to the Norwegian Æsa Björk. Her work ‘Fragments’, which consists of two large, convex lenses, is based on a sophisticated manufacturing technique. The fragile, pâte de verre texture of the blistered, in some places perforated glass surface, with its silvery sheen and resulting reflections, is reminiscent of the Big Bang and the creation of the Universe.
Æsa Björk won first prize with ‘Fragments’ (2021). Photo: Dieter Ertel.
The Irish artist Alison Lowry won the second prize of 10,000 Euros for her sculptural group of christening gowns and baby shoes, executed in the delicate pâte de verre technique. The work is a touching memorial to the decades of tragic treatment of illegitimate children in church-run mother-and-baby homes in Ireland. Read more about her work here.
Alison Lowry’s ‘Adhlacadh dúinn le dinit’ (Bury us with Dignity) (2021) won second prize. Photo: Dieter Ertel.
Judith Röder from Germany received the third prize of 5,000 Euros, for an installation made of superficially antiquated overhead projectors. Discarded window panes serve as projection templates. These seemingly unimportant remnants are recontextualised in the projected image, reminiscent of micro and macro photographs from nature.
Judith Röder’s ‘Projektion VII’ (2021) won third prize. Photo: Judith Röder.
Other award winners were Petr Stanický, Czech Republic, who receives the Senior Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung prize for an artist aged over 45 years (5,000 Euros), Slovakian Kristína Ligačová received the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung prize (2,000 Euros) and Zuzana Kubelková of the Czech Republic, received the Achilles-Stiftung prize for an artist aged under 35 (2,000 Euros). The Honorary Prize in memory of Otto Waldrich (2,000 Euros, donated by Gertrud Bartelmus) was awarded to the Swedish artist Ulla Forsell.
The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass exhibition presents a Europe-wide overview of current trends and developments in contemporary glass art. The judges felt that the levels of artistic achievement, technically, conceptually and in terms of complexity, had increased significantly in the last 10 years.
“The magical material glass has a variety of surprising effects, evokes emotions in a special way and makes you think,” commented the director of the art collections, jury member and exhibition curator, Sven Hauschke.
Many of the works submitted featured socially relevant topics. Problems such as the extinction of species, climate change, environmental destruction and exclusion were addressed with sculptures or multimedia installations. The coronavirus pandemic was also reflected.
Exhibition visitors who attend up to 8 August are invited to vote for the Visitors’ Choice Award, worth 2,000 Euros, and the Young Visitors’ Choice Award, worth 500 Euros.
The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2022 is organised by the Veste Coburg Art Collections in cooperation with the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung foundation.
Veste Coburg Art Collections are at: Veste Coburg, 96450 Coburg, Germany.
The European Museum of Modern Glass is at: Rosenau 10, 96472 Rödental, Germany.
Among the 90 glass artists chosen for the Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2022 exhibition, Bibi Smit is showing her new work, ‘Sands’. The exhibition takes place across two locations, Veste Coburg Art Collections and the European Museum of Modern Glass in Germany and runs from 10 April to 25 September 2022.
Inspired by seascapes and natural forms, these glass-blown ‘Sands’ sculptures reflect textures shaped by the wind.
As Bibi explains, “The ‘Sands’ are a natural outcome of moving further from cloud shapes and looking more at seascapes, shells and sea life. When you walk on the beach you see the way the water plays with the sand and makes patterns and, in the same way, the wind makes shapes in the desert. I am interested in how the water and the wind move the sand, not necessarily to do with the sea, as such, but more with movement. And that’s why the forms are hugging into each other. It shows my feeling when I look at the ripples of sand and the shapes that are made in nature with erosion and movement.”
The sculptures feature textured exteriors, with colour on the outside and the insides are white. The lines reflect the ripples seen in sand and water. The outsides are partly sandblasted to create depth and perspective.
“The relationship between the objects and how they relate to each other is important. They form groups because they belong to each other; they are part of the same feeling,” Bibi continues.
“I realised with the ‘Clouds’ series that it’s nice to have them laying around for a long time and to handle them and move them in different groups. I am being challenged to look at them in different frames, away from the studio and the gallery. This shifting composition process is part of the journey of how I see them and how I want them to be seen.”
The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass is Europe’s most important award for contemporary glass art. It is accompanied by an exhibition at the Veste Coburg and the European Museum for Modern Glas in Rödental.
The artists selected for the 2022 exhibition are: Giampaolo Amoruso, Galia Amsel, Sahar Baharymoghaddam, Veronika Beckh, Æsa Björk, Juli Bolaños-Durman, Péter Borkovics, Heike Brachlow, Effie Burns, Ned Cantrell, Anna Carlgren, Mathilde Caylou, Keeryong Choi, Katharine Coleman, Vanessa Cutler, Lukas Derow, Maria Bang Espersen, Sally Fawkes, Lena Feldmann, Carrie Fertig, Dominic Fonde, Ulla Forsell, Shige Fujishiro, Giuliano Gaigher, Hannah Gibson, Hartmann Greb, Mathieu Grodet, Wilfried Grootens, Jens Gussek, Iris Haschek, Adam Hejduk, Masami Hirohata, Palo Macho & Jana Hojstričová, Jochen Holz, Petr Hora, Krista Israel, Angela Jarman, Dafna Kaffeman, Saman Kalantari, Micha Karlslund, Morten Klitgaard, Maria Koshenkova, Remigijus Kriukas, Marzena Krzeminska Baluch, Zuzana Kubelková, Juliette Leperlier, James Lethbridge, Susan Liebold, Kristína Ligačová, Alison Lowry, Joanna Manousis, Markus Marschmann, James Maskrey, Gayle Matthias, Melanie Möglich, Sadhbh Mowlds, Jan Mytny, Tracy Nicholls, Fredrik Nielsen, Jagoda Nowak-Bieganowska, Stig Persson, Anne Petters, Vendulka Prchalová, Cornelius Réer, Colin Reid, Gerhard Ribka, Sebastian Richter, Anne-Lise Riond Sibony, Judith Röder, Susanne Roewer, Torsten Rötzsch, Tiina Sarapu, Cathryn Shilling, Wilken Skurk, Bibi Smit, Petr Stanický, Nancy Sutcliffe, Veronika Suter, Karlyn Sutherland, Ayako Tani, Aline Thibault, Michaela Tkadleček, Kristiina Uslar, Sylvie Vandenhoucke, Aleš Vašíček, Sofia Villamarin, Zac Weinberg, Jinya Zhao, and Jeff Zimmer.
Exhibition locations: Veste Coburg Art Collections, Veste Coburg, 96450 Coburg, Germany and the European Museum of Modern Glass, Rosenau 10, 96472 Rödental, Germany.
The Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) is collaborating with Farnham’s New Ashgate Gallery to present ‘Joyful Reflections’, an exhibition featuring 15 exceptional makers, as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.
These artists employ a variety of glass techniques, include blown, cast, fused, engraved and stained glass, and will present both sculptural and decorative work. Their artworks will be on show from Saturday 30 April until Saturday 11 June 2022 at the Surrey gallery.
The makers selected to take part in ‘Joyful Reflections’ are: Teresa Chlapowski, Hannah Gibson, Jianyong Guo, Laura Hart, Julie Light, Roberta Mason, Wendy Newhofer, Lisa Pettibone, Laura Quinn, Morag Reekie, Amy Skachill Burke, Nancy Sutcliffe, Cara Wassenberg, Frans Wesselman and Sandra Young.
CGS Chair, Susan Purser Hope, explained that members were invited to step back from the sadness of the pandemic and to embrace the joy of life now as inspiration for their glass creations. “Artists were asked to reflect upon the glorious and mysterious properties of glass – its transparency, its uniqueness, the variety of techniques it offers, its ability to reflect back at us – and to express joyful reflections on life and glass.”
She went on, “This is CGS’s first collaborative exhibition with the New Ashgate Gallery. We are excited by this wonderful opportunity for our members to show a range of work featuring vibrant colours and transparent forms reflecting upon the joyful moments we have come to appreciate in everyday life. Glass is an amazing material to work with and this is a glorious chance to raise its profile with the general public within the setting of this outstanding gallery.”
Nicola Lightfoot, Curator of Glass at New Ashgate Gallery commented, “The exhibition will highlight the luminous, reflective, and often illusional qualities of glass, and will celebrate its unique ability to express fragility, rigidity, pattern and form. We are excited to see how the makers test the parameters of the material through their refined craft skills, to create a variety of sculptural and decorative work.”
The exhibition takes place at The New Ashgate Gallery, Waggon Yard, Farnham Surrey GU9 7PS, UK, between 30 April and 11 June 2022. More information: https://www.newashgate.org.uk
This exhibition has been selected as one of the 50 events in the ‘Make! Craft! Live!’ campaign, marking the 50th anniversary of the Crafts Council, between October 2021 and October 2022. Find out more about ‘Make! Craft! Live!’ here.
Image: ‘Beauties and Nature’ by Jianyong Guo. Photo: Zihan Wang.
The US artist Tim Tate says he is as at home in Greek and Roman times as he is in the present day, taking inspiration for his work from across the centuries. From a foundation in studio glass, he has expanded his artistic repertoire over the years, incorporating new technology and different media to achieve his vision. Linda Banks finds out more.
You describe yourself as a mixed media sculptor, but a lot of your work incorporates glass. What led you to start working with glass and why is it important to you?
Glass is what first attracted me into art, and the medium I’m most proficient in using. Over the years I have found that its transparency, reflection and fragility made it the perfect medium to discuss loss, history and memory. I use many glass techniques, including one with an incredibly low carbon footprint. While I have also found a love for video, steel, polyurethane and electronics, my true heart will always be in glass.
“This is one of my favourites from the Queer Glass series, called ‘A Century Of Longing’ (Blown and cast glass/electronics, original video). The top finial is of a cast glass hand holding a Victorian bouquet. Inside there is a film projector and a stack of film. The video is an 1896 sound test by Edison. In it, two men dance for the first time in film history. A century has passed, and not only has the definition of ‘New Media’ changed (it begins with Edison’s films), but the way we perceive the two men dancing has changed as well. Edison was testing whether or not he could sync sound and motion at the time. These men have been dead for 50 years, but they dance on, oblivious of the fact that this three minutes would be remembered as iconic to a population they couldn’t have imagined. It was probably thought of as amusing back then, or convenient, but the way we perceive them has evolved so much over time that now it seems touching and sweet to think of them dancing for eternity together.”
You often mix traditional craft with new media, such as video. What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
Here’s an interesting fact; something happened when I first started using video. The intellectual property of the work switched from the materiality and form of glass to the actual video. I don’t know why this surprised me, but it truly did. It taught me to carefully analyse each piece I made with mixed media to make sure there was a balance. A picture can tell a thousand words, a video 10,000.
I don’t draw the designs out first. I have a large studio, where it’s easy to dive directly into the piece using materials at hand, using different ones for best effect. All my concepts come to me at 4am.
‘The Poetry Of Everyday Objects’ (6ft x 6ft). Cast glass.
What are the main message(s) you want to convey to your audience through your work?
My work falls into two categories. First, there is work that has a huge social message. The discourse towards equality and peace has always been challenging. I try to make sense of these conflicts through my own eyes.
The second type falls under my early influences as a small boy, reading Jules Verne novels under my bedcovers with a flashlight. I love Victorian Techno-Fetishism and ornamentation with all my heart. If my piece looks like it was originally taken from Captain Nemo’s submarine, the Nautilus, then I have succeeded!
‘The Isolation and Liberation of the Boy Who Was All Thumbs’ (Blown and cast glass, cast poly-vitro, paint, wood). “When I was younger, I rarely felt adept at sports or any group activities. I was painfully uncomfortable speaking to others. My only solace was found in reading. I immersed myself in the imaginary story lines, dreaming of a day I would find my purpose. I finally did, and broke out of the dome separating me from the world. Art was my passion, and I’m so happy I found it. Anyone finding their passion, their heart or their purpose knows this feeling… the feeling that they can soar.”
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
I tend to work in series, and in each series I have a favourite. In my video domes, I love my ‘Ophelia’ piece best. In my endless mirrors, I love the one I just finished, which is dealing with the war in Ukraine. For my walls, I love ‘the Poetry of Everyday Objects’ best. For fully cast pieces, I like ‘Justinian’s Oculus’ best.
‘The Endless Cycle’ (Glass, aluminium, poly-vitro, electronics). “For every man shown here, 1000 people died last year because of gun violence. For every gun shown here, a child dies every day. A hard lesson we have to learn from Orlando. Only by joining together can we hope to curtail gun violence.”
You have collaborated with other artists. How do you find this experience?
I LOVE collaborating with other artists, and this is something I do frequently. The collaborations with Michael Janis have resulted in some of my favourite work. Collaborating stretches my aesthetic and allows me to discover new voices within me.
“This piece, ‘A Call To Redemption’ stems from the lovely thought of man being called to God (Blown and cast glass, electronic parts, camera, audio wave). This interactive piece features a camera, so that, as the viewer approaches the work, they see themselves in the LCD screen. At the same time, a motion detector inside senses the viewer’s presence, and triggers an audio wave of an Imam calling them to prayer. This sound was recorded while I was teaching in Istanbul.”
What is next for your practice?
I’ve been working heavily with manipulated lenticulars of my work. It was fascinating to see my own work in different forms. I also just created 50 NFTs [non-fungible tokens], so I’m examining this medium too. There is no artform that I will not try. I love them all!
Where do you show and sell your work?
I work with many galleries, such as Habatat Gallery in Detroit, Momentum Gallery in Asheville and Sandra Ainsley in Toronto. I also do many of the international art fairs, such as Art Miami, Volta and Context.
‘Today Mrs. Dalloway Thought That She Would Buy The Flowers’ (Aluminium, glass, electronics). “Mrs. Dalloway, the character from the Virginia Woolf book, struggled with gender identity. It ends tragically for her, as it did for Virginia Woolf herself. I love doing work about literature and certainly a book dealing with early feminism. These times call for all Mrs. Dalloways to have their voices heard and all men to listen and believe. To make sure all Mrs. Dalloways are allowed and encouraged to live the lives they want.The piece is very colourful and must be heard. This is my statement about these times.”
Do you have a career highlight?
Being on the cover of the museum catalogue for the Glasstress show at the State Hermitage Museum in Russia in 2021 blew me away. There are such great artists and works in that show, and I unexpectedly landed the cover. I was ecstatic when it came. To show next to such amazing artists as Ai Weiwei, the Chapman Brothers, Tony Cragg, Tony Oursler, and so on, humbles even the best artists. Coming up, I’ll be in the Glasstress show at the Murano Glass Museum during summer’s Venice Biennale, which should be great.
Who or what inspires you?
Current events can be very unsettling to me. My way of responding, as an artist, is to create art about those triggering events. They usually embrace the theme of loss and history. Between times, I can also heal myself by making achingly beautiful work that could fall under the category of Victorian Formalism. I love both for different reasons. Books, movies and my imagination fill in the rest.
Has the coronavirus impacted your practice?
Almost from the beginning of COVID-19 I embraced the internet as a means of keeping in contact with my collector base. I hosted almost 50 Zoom meetings over that time. These were not just about my work, but about that of many other artists as well. Because of that, I thrived during that dark period. But I am so looking forward to a time of enlightenment coming soon, and for in-person shows to return. I love working at, and going to, the fairs! They are my favourite hobby.
‘Justinian’s Oculus’ (Cast lead crystal). “The Plague of Justinian was the first known plague, in 541-549 AD. It was the first time that the black plague was seen on this planet and was named after the Roman Emperor Justinian I, who reportedly contracted it early on in Constantinople. Though he survived, it ultimately killed a fifth of the entire population of that city over five years. Justinian said that whenever he saw his reflection, he imagined the faces of those who died looking back. This is my second pandemic, as I have lived through the AIDS crisis. So many souls have been lost to both. Strange that the mind will forget so much of what has only just passed, and yet hold crystal clear the memory of what happened years ago… of men and women long since dead. Yet who can say what is real and what is not? Can I believe my friends are gone when their voices are still whispering into my ears every night as I fall asleep? I will always believe they live on in my heart and mind.”
In conclusion
This is the most exciting time to be an artist who works in glass. No longer is it represented by 40 studio glass artists from the US, but by 400 amazing artists from around the globe who work with glass in such amazing ways. We are in such a transitional phase in the art world, and with transition come opportunities. Just keep your eyes and mind open to see them.
Tim Tate uses traditional and modern techniques to create his artwork.
About the artist
Tim Tate is co-founder of the Washington Glass Studio in Washington, DC, USA. Tim’s work is in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum.
He was the 2010 recipient of the Virginia Groot Foundation award for sculpture, took second place in the 2017 London Contemporary Art Prize, and is a 2018 James Renwick Alliance Distinguished Artist.
He taught in Istanbul in August 2007 and at Penland School of Crafts on several occasions.
He was the Development Chair for the Penland Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2018 and is the Programme Chair for the James Renwick Alliance.
He received his Fulbright Award from Sunderland University in England in 2012.
In 2018 he was asked to speak at Yale University on Craft and Conflict, to represent the Queer community and its history of art activism.
Main feature image: ‘We Rose Up’ (Cast objects, aluminium, LEDs). “This piece was made for the first LGBTQ glass show in history at the National Liberty museum in Philadelphia. The show is called “Transparency” and all work in the show is made by openly LGBTQ artists. This piece, because it is an endless mirror, creates a space that has never existed before and is not a real space in this dimension. That means I can claim this space as my own, with its own set of physics and logic. Only the viewer creates this space. I hope anyone who views this, with its countless images of positive souls, will see those they lost peering out at them, finally visible again in this imagined space. Seen and not forgotten… alive again, for this brief moment.”
The Pyramid Gallery in York will host two exhibitions of Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) members’ artwork at the same time in Autumn 2022.
One exhibition will be selected and the other will be open to all CGS members. Exhibition one (selected) is entitled ‘Bedazzled – 25 Glass Makers Impress’, while exhibition two (open to all members) will be called ‘Razzle Dazzle: Five x Five’.
‘Razzle Dazzle: Five x Five’
Register your interest to take part in ‘Razzle Dazzle: Five x Five’ by 9 May 2022. You don’t need to have made your piece by this date, but simply to register your intention to take part.
CGS Chair, Susan Purser Hope, commented, “After a couple of years with little live entertainment, let’s add a little razzle dazzle to our lives and celebrate what we love to watch or take part in. It could be a night at the opera, your favourite Bacall/Bogart film, the end-of-pier show, partying in Ibiza, a family barbeque or simply watching a flock of soaring birds. We want a bit of showiness, a flash of brilliance, a little decorative loveliness, even a little opulence, to enhance our spirits and make us smile with joyfulness!”
So why not make a little piece of eye-catching beauty in glass that meets this brief? It must be a maximum of 5 inches x 5 inches (127 x 127mm) x 1 inch deep (25mm). However, if the piece is framed, the frame can be additional to the sizes given for the glass work. All submissions must have their own fittings as they will be displayed on a wall.
To make it fun and challenging, all pieces of work will be offered for sale at between £100 and £300. This is an unselected show for 100 members. Once you have registered, if you are one of the first 100, you are in the show. ‘Razzle Dazzle: Five x Five’ is free to enter.
You do not need to have made your piece by 9 May (it is not needed until September), but we need to know how many artists are taking part, so please register as soon as you can and by 9 May at the latest.
The exhibition will take place from 10 September to 30 October 2022.
Find out more and download the application form here.
‘Bedazzled – 25 Glass Makers Impress’
The other exhibiting opportunity is ‘Bedazzled – 25 Glass Makers Impress’. This is a selected selling show of 25 glass artists, who can exhibit up to three pieces of work each. The selection will be made by a panel including Terry Brett of Pyramid Gallery, a CGS Board member and an independent artist. The aim is to select artists representing a cross-section of glass making techniques. Wall and plinth-based works are welcome.
The meaning of ‘Bedazzle’ is “to greatly impress [someone] with outstanding ability or striking appearance”. Susan explained, “We invite you to provide us with glasswork that dazzles us with your technique and the quality of your work! Show us why glass is such a precious material to work with. Maybe even introduce an element of silver to bedazzle us and to commemorate the CGS’s 25-year anniversary in 2022.”
There is an administration fee of £15 and successful artists will be asked for a marketing contribution of £30 per artist.
The application form for ‘Bedazzled – 25 Glass Makers Impress’, including images of up to three pieces of work, must be returned by 5pm (UK time) on Monday 23 May 2022.
Find out more and download the application form via this link.
Both exhibitions will take place at The Pyramid Gallery, 43 Stonegate, York YO1 8AW from 10 September to 30 October 2022. https://www.pyramidgallery.com
If you are not yet a member of CGS, why not join here so you can take up these, and many other, exhibiting opportunities?
Four major glass commissions by leading contemporary artists are now open to the public at sites across the North East of England, including ‘Ghost Shop’, a betting shop made of glass.
The artist behind this piece, Ryan Gander, was one of four artists invited to create new glass work as part of the Glass Exchange project, organised by the National Glass Centre (NGC).
The four artists, Monster Chetwynd, Ryan Gander, Katie Paterson and Pascale Marthine Tayou, were chosen by a panel of artists and curators, convened by the NGC, to create new glass work. As none of them had a history of working in glass, each worked in collaboration with skilled glass workers from the NGC to create their vision.
The finished works can be seen in and around the cities of Sunderland and Durham, including a vacant shop in Sunderland city centre, Durham Cathedral, and the NGC, until 11 September 2022.
‘Ghost Shop’
Ryan Gander’s commission is a life-sized abandoned betting shop, created in glass, and sited in a vacated tanning salon on High Street West in Sunderland city centre. ‘Ghost Shop’ has all fixtures and fittings made in clear glass, including details such as an upturned bin spilling out discarded betting slips, and a pile of unopened post.
Ryan stated, “It’s been a pleasure to work in Sunderland with the team at National Glass Centre – who are just insanely talented. No one else in the UK would have been capable of producing the work. National Glass Centre is a unique place, there’s nowhere else with the knowledge, skills or network.”
His commission, a comment on the state of the UK’s High Streets, came about after a lunch with NGC’s Head of Arts Julia Stephenson. “I wanted to aim high, and I’m used to curators saying ‘it can’t be done’, but when I explained I wanted to create a life-sized, discarded betting shop, Julia said ‘yes’ straight away.”
Ryan explained his thinking behind the installation: “Betting shops are beckoning doors of illicit sin, like somewhere in Soho, and the shop fronts are covered, so you never know what’s going on inside. There’s a certain mystery to them.
“People validate and quantify art by the number of people counted as seeing the art, but I’m more impressed with artwork that still bothers people when they’re returning home on the bus, or still want to tell their friends about it two years later.
“I hope most people who engage with ‘Ghost Shop’ will be people who don’t know they’re engaging with art and I think that is the best art,” he went on. “Most people don’t want anything to do with contemporary art, don’t understand it and certainly don’t think it’s for them.”
Glass is the perfect material to express absence and Ryan used the material in a simple and ambitious manner to reflect the decline of the country’s urban centres. The half-dismantled fixtures and fittings suggest what has been and the betting slips and food and drink wrappers create a more direct human connection.
Ryan Gander OBE RA was born in 1976 in Chester and now lives and works in Suffolk.
‘Ghost Shop’ can be seen at 61 High Street West, Sunderland, until 11 September 2022.
‘The Life of St Bede’
Monster Chetwynd was born in London in 1973. She now lives and works in Zürich, Switzerland. Her commission, ‘The Life of St Bede’, is on display in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral. Her work features four colourful and imaginative dioramas capturing key scenes from the life of St Bede.
Monster said: “The dedicated hours that have gone into the art pieces feel enormous. There were site visits and many exchanges of ‘problem solving’ over two years. I made cardboard models to 1:1 scale and the same again in fired clay.
“The assembling of the hot glass and lamp work only finally came together very recently. We had to face so many questions: Do the colours complement? Does the lighting allow the glass to resonate and seduce the eye? Do the plinths work or detract?
“The team I worked with through the National Glass Centre – Julia Stephenson, James Maskrey, Ayako Tani, Kalki Mansel – have been brilliant, sincere and earnest in marrying and merging my ideas. I am impressed and feel ‘high’ from the collaboration.”
Monster Chetwynd’s dioramas of Bede and St Cuthbert on display inside the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral. Photo: David Wood.
‘Requiem’ and ‘The Moment’
Katie Paterson created two interrelated works for the Glass Exchange project. ‘Requiem’ is a glass urn filled with hundreds of samples of dust that spans billions of years, including the evolution of humankind over the last few millennia. She also created a series of hourglasses, called ‘The Moment’, that contain material from before the Sun existed, one of which will be shown in Durham Cathedral.
‘Requiem’ will be exhibited at Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh from 9 April 9 to 11 June, before being shown at the NGC from 18 June to 11 September 2022.
Katie said: “It’s been a joy to work with master glass blower James Maskrey, who has translated my scraps of ideas into beautifully crafted objects. I’ve never before had the opportunity to work in hot glass, so to be able to work with James at this level, in a world-class centre of glass making, has been a privilege.
“James has made more than 400 glass objects for ‘Requiem’ and has really pushed the limits of scale, whilst retaining a delicacy of the forms. I’m really happy with the results.”
Katie Paterson was born in Glasgow in 1981 and is now based in Fife.
Hourglass by artist Katie Paterson on display at Durham Cathedral. Photo: David Wood.
‘Colonial Ghost’
Pascale Marthine Tayou presents ‘Colonial Ghost’, which invites the viewer to consider connections between colonisation and the growth of Christianity in African countries. The artwork consists of 32 Christian crosses, each made using five human figures. The nails adjacent to each figure are important to the work, echoing Christ’s crucifixion.
Pascale was born in Nkongsamba, Cameroon, in 1966 and he now lives and works in Ghent, Belgium, and Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Following its display at Sunderland Minster, ‘Colonial Ghost’ is now on show at the NGC’s Balcony Gallery until 11 September 2022.
‘Colonial Ghost’ by Pascale Marthine Tayou is on display at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. Photo: David Wood.
Rebecca Ball, chief executive at Sunderland Culture, which delivered the project, said: “We’re thrilled and proud with the results of Glass Exchange. As the title of the project suggests, this was about an exchange of ideas, creativity and knowledge between four respected contemporary artists and our uniquely talented team of glass makers at National Glass Centre.”
Glass Exchange is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence Fund, with additional funding from Art Fund, Henry Moore Foundation and the Coastal Communities Fund, and with thanks to the University of Sunderland and Durham Cathedral.
Between 2 April and 29 May 2022 visitors to the Craft in the Bay gallery in Cardiff can see an exhibition of work by members of the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) and the Makers Guild in Wales (MGW).
This is one of many collaborative activities being held throughout 2022 by the CGS to highlight its 25-year anniversary. This partnership with The MGW showcases art inspired by the theme ‘Flow’, held in a beautiful, fully glazed exhibition area in the heart of Cardiff Bay, Wales.
Applications were encouraged from all CGS members, and especially those based in Wales. A total of 22 artists were selected to take part.
Interpretations came from the Flow of glass, of ideas, of creativity, and of movement.
The artists chosen were: Nour El Huda Awad, Carolyn Basing, Chris Bird-Jones, Jacky Edwards, Mark Fenn, Trish Goodbody, Amber Hiscott, Pratibha Mistry, Paul Mitchell, Linda Norris, Kate Pasvol, Rachel Phillips, Nicholas Rutherford, Anna Selway, Cathryn Shilling, Phillipa Silcock, Amelia Skachill Burke, Susan Thorne, Angela Thwaites, Neil Wilkin, James Witchell and Bethan Yates.
CGS Chair, Susan Purser Hope, who was on the selection panel, commented, “It is extremely exciting to have the opportunity to exhibit in such a lovely location as part of our celebratory tour around Great Britain. It was a daunting experience helping to choose artists from work that showed such variety and imagination.”
Charlotte Kingston, Artistic Curator, MGW, added, “It is exciting to see the originality in design and interpretation of ‘Flow’ from the selected artists. Such a high level of skill in working with glass in a multitude of ways. The Makers Guild Wales is delighted to be working in partnership with CGS on this exciting project to bring contemporary glass to its audiences.”
The Flow exhibition is on from 2 April until 29 May at: Craft in the Bay, The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 4QH. Website: https://www.makersguildinwales.org.uk
Image: ‘Hand me down’ by Linda Norris will be on show at the exhibition.
As part of its series of events promoting the UN-designated International Year of Glass in 2022 and marking the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) 25th anniversary, the CGS and the Scottish Glass Society (SGS) are holding a joint exhibition of contemporary glass art created by their members.
The exhibition, entitled ‘Stories – Whispers from the Past and the Present’, will take place in two venues in Scotland in September and October 2022. It is a selected show open to all UK-based members of both organisations.
The theme support’s Scotland’s Year of Stories, taking place in 2022. This spotlights, celebrates and promotes the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. From icons of literature to local tales, the 2022 Year of Stories aims to encourage locals and visitors to experience a diversity of voices, take part in events and explore the places, people and cultures connected to all forms of stories, past and present.
‘Stories – Whispers from the Past and the Present’ will encourage makers to consider the five strands of Scotland’s theme for 2022:
Iconic stories and storytellers: To showcase Scotland’s wealth of treasured and iconic stories and storytellers from classics to contemporary across literature, the screen and the entertainment world. New stories: To shine a light on emerging, fresh and forward-looking talent and highlight the innovators who break boundaries across all forms of storytelling. Scotland’s people and places: To promote how Scotland’s diverse culture, languages, landscapes and ways of life, urban and rural, provide a source for all types and forms of stories. Local tales and legends: To bring to the forefront those distinct tales that communities pass through the generations. Those stories that we tell ourselves and share with others to make sense of time and place. Inspired by nature: To feature our encounters with nature. Whether by the sea or land, along rivers or through woods, in city and country, we discover stories of birds, insects, animals and plants. These stories define our place in the natural world and help create a more sustainable future for Scotland, and a greener planet.
The exhibition will aim to demonstrate how utterly glorious and amazing contemporary glass is, so that everyone can appreciate and enjoy its magical colours, textures, use of light and variety of techniques. It is also an opportunity for the public to discover not only local glass artists but also work from other parts of the UK.
This joint exhibition will celebrate both Scotland and the collaboration between national glass societies. The work displayed will feature as wide a range of techniques as possible.
The show will open in Trades House, Glasgow in the Merchant City area, running from 14 to 22 September, coinciding with the Glasgow ‘Doors Open’ week. The exhibition then moves to the Wasps Creative Academy in Inverness, from 3 to 29 October.
“This is CGS’s second collaborative exhibition with the Scottish Glass Society. The previous show was such a success that we are excited to have this wonderful opportunity to not only exhibit at the prestigious Trades Hall in Glasgow again but to tour the show to this exciting new venue in Inverness”, commented Susan Purser Hope, CGS Chair.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on 25 July 2022. All work must be for sale.
Find out more and complete the application form here.
If you are not yet a member of CGS and would like to take part in this event, why not join here?
Image: The previous CGS and SGS joint exhibition at the Trades Hall, Glasgow.
Internationally renowned glass artist and scholar, Vanessa Cutler, will be the first visiting exhibitor to showcase their glass at the Stourbridge Glass Museum, when it opens on 9 April 2022.
Inspired by her daily coastal walks during lockdown, her ‘Journeys and Horizons’ exhibition depicts the process of arriving at new beginnings in a thought-provoking display.
Vanessa uses the latest digital and water-jet technology alongside traditional casting processes to produce her pieces, which, when presented alongside resident artefacts spanning four centuries, will give visitors to the Museum an insight into the evolution of glass making.
Commenting on the exhibition, Museum Director Ollie Buckley said: “Vanessa Cutler is a hugely respected UK artist and her creativity and expertise are celebrated internationally. We’re delighted that she has chosen to support Stourbridge Glass Museum as our inaugural artist, setting the tone and quality of displays for years to come.
“Indeed, whether you’re a long-time fan of glass art or are simply a member of the public interested in this new local visitor attraction, I’m absolutely confident that you will really enjoy our displays and learning about the incredible story of glass making in the Stourbridge and Midlands area.”
Vanessa Cutler said: “I’m delighted to share this special moment in Stourbridge’s glass making history and I’m very much looking forward to engaging visitors to this fantastic new museum with Journeys and Horizons.”
Vanessa was awarded her second professorship in 2021 by Chichester University, where she runs the Product Design/Design Engineering courses. Prior to this she was Professor of Glass at UWTSD, Swansea where she taught for eight years.
Stourbridge Glass Museum charts Stourbridge Glass Quarter’s 400-year history through engaging interactive displays and cutting-edge digital technology, in addition to a working glass hot shop. Find out more in our previous story here and atstourbridgeglassmuseum.org.uk.
Read more from Vanessa Cutler about waterjet technology and see her work in this previous feature in CGS Glass Network digital.
Image: ‘Buoys’ by Vanessa Cutler. Photo: Simon Bruntnell.
Three glass artists are among 20 early-career makers showing their work with the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham, Surrey in the annual ‘Rising Stars’ exhibition.
Rising Stars is a curated, national platform to foster and champion new talent. It includes makers and graduates from BA and MA craft, design and applied arts programmes, offering them their first step into the art world through a selling exhibition. The event is on now until 23 April 2022.
Catherine Dunstan, Pratibha Mistry and Lilly Eris are the featured glass artists, working with techniques from blown and kiln formed to stained glass to create unique art pieces.
The crafts of the 20 exhibitors can be viewed and bought via this link.
One participant in Rising Stars 2022 will be chosen to receive a prize of £1,000 and a solo exhibition at the New Ashgate Gallery. The Gallery also offers free maker events to support the business skills of new makers.
The shortlisted makers were selected by a panel of judges: Dan Goode (Making Goode), Dr Outi Remes (New Ashgate Gallery) and Sharon Ting (University for the Creative Arts, Textiles).
Rising Stars 2022 is organised by New Ashgate Gallery in partnership with the University for the Creative Arts and Dan Goode of Making Goode. It is supported by Billmeir Charitable Trust.
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