GLASS IN LATIN AMERICA: STRENGTHEN OUR OWN, CROSSING LIMITS, AND BUILDING BRIDGES

by María Diaz de Vivar

What does Latin American glass art reflect? We evaluated the glass art landscape with local artists who have made their way and are seeking international recognition. In dialogue with pioneers in the field of glass art in Latin America, we wanted to know how they developed their careers, what can be improved and how they see the future of artistic glass in the region.

“There are a number of places where glass flourished in the 21st century, including Argentina. We need a great glass exhibition in the United States, which can reflect the production of that country”, said William Warmus, recently referring to the works of two outstanding artists, Silvia Levenson and Andrea Da Ponte.

Opening the panorama of activity in the field across South and Central America, artistic glass has had remarkable growth and expansion in the last decade. The region's artists produce more and more works using techniques and resources with audacity and flexibility. In each country, artistic production reflects identity and diversity.

In the beginning, everything revolved around the stained glass window, which can be seen in historic buildings in cities and churches as well as in hidden corners of historic family homes. Latin American artists experimented with glass blowing, and over time some began to investigate the use of fused window glass to develop sculptural forms. And following, kiln-casting and lampworking came into the scope of techniques used around Latin America.

There is a growing appreciation of the qualities of glass as a resistant and ductile material, embraced both for its transparencies and for its subtleties and fragility. An important point to keep in mind is the limitation that local creators face in the lack of dialogue, institutional structures, and tools. Young artists do not always gain access to specialized technical training with national and international teachers and makers. Even so, when it comes to highlighting strengths, experimentation with float glass has grown in recent times, achieving interesting results and, in some cases, extraordinary ones, even to foreign eyes. Among the artists who choose this glass to express themselves, we can mention Rubén Fasani from Argentina and Tulio Pinto from Brazil.

“For my works I choose to work with discarded glass. I recycle float, and in this way, I collaborate with ecology. Working with cheap materials, allows me to carry out some of my research and experiment with low costs”, explains Fasani, from his studio.

In recent years, countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica have developed artistic glass communites that are increasingly connected, creating the synergy and expression between group of artists. Bridges are built and from my online platform, Objetos con Vidrio, I carry out a work of dissemination and interviews with local and international artists. In addition to being a place of registration and documentation, it seeks to stimulate collaboration between artists. Over the past fifteen years, it has connected creative worlds and promoted networking. Two significant events have brought the community together: Ibero-American Women in Glass Congress at the MAVA (Alcorcón Museum of Glass Art) in Madrid, Spain, and the International Biennial of Glass in Ibero-America in Cártago, Costa Rica.

Andrea Da Ponte demonstrates how artists from the region can come to produce and exhibit their pieces. An artist, teacher and a leader in experimentation with glass, Da Ponte says that the search for perfect the line was what led her to investigate a variety of methods. "I developed an experimental technique for transferring images to glass, capturing a full-color image on glass with photographic quality, inside and outside volumes, providing multiple viewpoints through the vitreous mass," she explains with infectious clarity and enthusiasm. Andrea is also a passionate teacher and shares her knowledge with students from Argentina and around the world ,creating spaces for communication and technical application of newly developed methods.

Among the most prominent Latin American names in glass, is Marta Isabel Martinez, who came into contact with the medium while studying Industrial Design at the National University of Colombia, in Bogotá, and fell in love with the possibilities offered by the material. Her series of utilitarian objects, sculptures, and stained glass windows stand out, but she has continued to develop her technical vocabulary.

“When I learned about the lampworking technique, I discovered that I could have a direct and immediate dialogue with the glass, contrary to what happens with other techniques, in which working times have sequences and stages that force a wait. With the torch I felt I could have direct communication and control with the material. I decided to enable it, not hide it or disguise it. I did not want to make pieces with glass that could be made of another material. I wanted to highlight its transparency, and highlight the charm of “colorless” which, after all, is the sum of all colors”.

Eduardo Silva Prado lives in Brazil and started working in a fusing studio and later developed his production methods in blown glass. Until in 2000, his country suffered an energy crisis, and the use of gas had to be drastically reduced. The contingency forced him to stop using the ovens and now he remembers it like this: “I had to close the studio and I could only make a few pieces by renting ovens from the glass industry for an hour, such as bottles, glasses, etc. And since I had no color to use, I brought glass paint from the USA and started making the painted pieces. At first, I only painted the exterior of the pieces. Then, in a small factory, I managed to cover the paintings with hot glass. I did this for a few years, and one of my pieces was chosen to participate in the glass triennial in Kanazawa, Japan.”

At the training level, in Latin America there are various schools and free training spaces where techniques are learned and there are notable examples of development at the regional level. It is surprising to see the designs of the artists who work within the communities, some far from the big cities. The expressive force of their works, which often reflects the environment or, rather, becomes part of a whole. Then there are those who access further training and travel the world to return with fresh eyes and techniques. Through scholarships, residencies and training, some artists use these exchanges and access materials, equipment and infrastructure to develop their works beyond local borders.

The Peruvian artist Romina Gonzales, for example, did her formative years in the United States and says that this led her to "find a different vision of things, and to broaden a perspective of possibilities that she did not know before." Another important point has to do with promotion and accessing the market with the connections to collectors, the support of local and international museums, and gallery owners. The spaces that exhibit work are small and have begun to link up and make contact with institutions and companies in search of support.

IVIS Gallery, for example, seeks to make visible the work of glass artists from IberoAmerica through international exhibitions. The artist and curator Lucia Warck-Meister has been carrying out interesting work and is excited to state that creative work with glass is gaining a strong foothold in areas where it was previously somewhat relegated. "This is a discipline that has finally crossed the boundaries of the decorative arts to be considered a means of production within the visual arts."

Mystic Totem with Cathy Claycomb

October 18 and 20

Teaching Glass Art Lecture with Dennis Brady

October 27

Among the pioneers of Latin American Glass are Silvia Levenson, Miriam Di Fiore, Águeda Dicranco, Eduardo Silva Prado, Mercedes Vivas, Raquel Stolarski, Isabel de Obaldia and the de la Torre Brothers, who paved the way for others, as is the case of Narcissus Quagliata who has been living in Mexico for thirty years.

As for the most innovative artists of the next generation, it is worth mentioning some names with international projection: Andrea Da Ponte, Ana Laura Quintana, Ruben Fasani, Natalia Geschcovich, Marta Isabel Ramírez, Silvia Monge, Gladys Sevillano, Ana María Nava, Ivan Navarro, Tulio Pinto and Romina Gonzalez, among others.

The potential is evident in countries like Argentina where the use of glass is very popular. What is needed are more opportunities. That is why many choose to go to educational spaces of excellence that exist in cities in the United States and Europe. Many of these schools will facilitate scholarships or offer financial resources to the expanding community of Latin American artists whose works are more established. Being able to count on more visibility and resources would make possible a change and even a leap for the community of the region.

Marketing Art a New Way Lecture with Scott Ouderkirk

November 3

Fusing with Frit with Lisa Vogt

November 10

Glass Gingerbread Housewith All the Trimmings with Dennis Brady

November 15

Making Waterslide Decals with Scott Ouderkirk

December 1

Kiln Sculpture with Dennis Brady

December 6

Working with Castalot Lecture with Michael Dupille December 8

Glass Compatibility & COE What Does it Mean? Lecture with Henry Halem

December 15