Crystal Clear Glass art by Aaronson, Grenier and Beattie
Adam Aaronson
Fleur Grenier
Katrina Beattie
20 May – 7 July 2017
Artists’ Biographies
Adam Aaronson
Adam Aaronson Glass Studio Foxbury Barn, Epsom Road, West Horsley KT24 6AR Tel: 01483 375035 Website: www.adamaaronson.com Email: adam@adamaaronson.com Adam Aaronson Glass Studio Adam Aaronson’s love affair with glass began almost 40 years ago and his passion for this most unpredictable and seductive of artistic mediums remains undimmed today. His artwork is inspired by the ceaseless mutability of light on the landscape, sky and water, with the idea of change as a continual presence also a major theme. Glass is the ideal medium to express these concepts since its properties are inherently mutable, not only in its molten state but also in the way the play of light creates endless nuances in the finished piece. At Adam Aaronson Glass Studio in Surrey, he creates his artwork and teaches glassblowing courses for beginners. Passionate About Glass Adam Aaronson has been at the heart of British studio glass since 1982, first running galleries dedicated to glass art and subsequently as a glass artist in his own right, learning how to create glass art later in his career and developing self-taught methods. Adam is a skilled maker and a truly diverse and talented glass artist. He is constantly experimenting with techniques and exploring new ideas, including the potential of large sculptural works designed for the outdoors.
Adam specialises in free blown glass. His vessels and sculptures are at once a celebration of the simplicity of pure form, and also an investigation into layering. His coloured patinas draw on painterly techniques and are predominately inspired by a love of nature, especially the play of light on water and the landscape. He is a consummate colourist, and the Impressionist painters -Turner, Whistler, Monet and others – have been a significant inspiration for his work. “I think of my work as a story of surface and form. Each blown glass artwork is a canvas, depicting landscape in a variety of abstracted ways; a shimmering moment of reflection, capturing river and sea, coastline, forest and desert, as light passes over and through. Glass contains its own dynamic of reflection and refraction, and balancing the relationship between form and surface is often challenging. I explore the organic form of each sculpture, celebrating the natural flow and force of molten glass, sometimes leaving behind traditional requirements for functionality. “Sometimes I start with a defined idea, but the intuitive way in which I work means that on occasions I’ll notice unexpected aspects of the developing form and how they relate to the palette I am using. It’s almost as if the evolving piece influences the way it turns out. People often say that glass has a life of its own and it is only when you actually make glass that you understand what this means. I’ve been developing a vocabulary of forms for some years, and these range from the early simple canvases to the more recent organic surfaces.” Adam’s work has been exhibited all over the world and can be found in numerous private collections from royalty to rock stars. Over the years, he has been commissioned to make work for the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Italy’s venerable Salviati glass studio, the Museum of Art and Design in New York, the UK’s National Art Collections Fund and The British Museum, among others. Adam’s work has been shown at the prestigious Sotheby’s Contemporary Decorative Arts exhibition in London, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York City.
Adam is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). He is a Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen (FSDC), and chairman of their Selection Committee. Adam is also a member of many glass related societies and organisations, including the Contemporary Glass Society, the Glass Association, and the Glass Circle. Adam is also an active member of the Surrey Sculpture Society and the Surrey Guild of Craftsmen, as well as the Oxford Sculptors Group. Adam has exhibited and demonstrated at Art in Action, one of the most famous events in the arts and crafts calendar held annually at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire until recently. Early Days Adam’s fascination with glass started when as a small boy he used his pocket money to buy a coloured glass vase as a present for his mother. Later, at school, he was drawn to clay, captivated by the ability to create threedimensional forms and encouraged by his teacher, Gordon Baldwin, the legendary ceramicist. Despite his early interest in the arts, Adam initially planned a more conventional career and graduated from Keele University with a BA Hons in International Relations. After university, while considering his next steps, Adam whiled away a summer working at his family’s London gallery, which specialised in antique furniture, glass and porcelain. A chance invitation from glass artist Peter Layton, now one of the “Grand Old Men” of British art glass, to join one of his first weekend glass courses in 1977 proved the catalyst, confirming his fascination with glass and cementing the career direction Adam would take in the future. In the first few years of his career in glass, Adam worked with his family in Highgate, north London, to develop their business, called Coleridge, into the UK’s first gallery devoted entirely to British Studio Glass. Another, more central, gallery followed in 1983 in London’s Piccadilly, and this became a top destination for glass lovers and collectors from home and abroad. Coleridge was a launch pad for a number of emerging glass artists who went on to forge international careers, including Margaret Alston, Tessa Clegg, Anna Dickinson, Alison Kinnaird, David Reekie, Colin Reid, among others.
Then, in 1986, Adam decided he wanted to make the transition from selling glass art to making it, and he opened his first glassblowing studio, in Clerkenwell, London. This studio marked the beginning of his personal journey as a glass artist, as well as offering both British and international artists the chance to develop their own work through residencies. The Earl’s Court Years As the years rolled by, Adam moved his studio several times before settling in to premises in London’s Earl’s Court, where he was to spend nearly 20 years. Here Adam developed his talent and skills, and opened his on-site gallery, Zest, with the dual goal of showcasing his own creative output while continuing his quest to bring outstanding British glass to a wider audience. For many years, Zest was one of the few galleries in London devoted entirely to selling and exhibiting Studio Glass art and Zest also exhibited at international Art Fairs, including Art London, SOFA New York and Chicago, showing Adam’s work together with numerous British artists including Vic Bamforth, Max Jacquard, Alison Kinnaird, Peter Layton and Naoko Sato. During this period, Adam initially focused on selling his work through upmarket retailers such as The Conran Shop, Liberty and Harrods as well as galleries and museum shops all over the world. These included The Guggenheim and The Museum of Art and Design in New York City. He travelled to New York, San Francisco and Paris several times a year to attend trade shows, where he sold his work to galleries across the United States and Europe. With this exposure, Adam found himself increasingly sought out by interior designers to commission bespoke solutions for both domestic and commercial projects. Finding that he enjoyed this creative collaboration with interior designers and architects interesting and challenging, Adam’s focus shifted away from trade shows to concentrate on working to commission, as well as making more time to develop his own artwork. Notable commissions included a glass and steel four-poster bed in an Oxfordshire home, a seven-storey glass staircase balustrade for an Alpine ski chalet, a large wall sculpture for a boutique hotel in the Cotswolds and numerous lighting and interior accessory
projects for top London hotels and restaurants. More recently, he was commissioned to make several glass fountains for the gardens of a private home in the South of France.
Escape to the Country In 2012, when Adam found out that property developers had decided to knock down the building that had been his London studio for so long, he decided to turn a disaster into a virtue and escape the capital for a peaceful country location. After a long and difficult search, Adam found the perfect spot – an old agricultural building in West Horsley, a small village near Guildford in rural Surrey, 30 miles southwest of the capital. He moved there in the spring of 2013. Adam soon found inspiration from his new surroundings in the rolling countryside of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a new body of work began to take shape. The scale of Adam’s work grew larger, and he began to develop a series of sculptures for outdoor settings as well as water features alongside the work for which he is already well known. “I am inspired by the ceaseless mutability of light on the landscape, the sky and water. I am fascinated by horizons, the vanishing point where the land merges with the sky. Glass is the ideal medium to express this idea of continual change since its properties are inherently mutable, not only in its molten state but also in the way the play of light creates endless nuances in the finished piece.”
In Surrey, Adam threw himself into the local arts scene and has become firmly established. He takes part in the annual Surrey Artists Open Studios event and was nominated in 2014 for Surrey Artist of the Year and also in 2016. As his reputation spread in Surrey, Adam knew he had arrived when he was asked to award a prize at the village flower show! And Guildford Borough Council invited him to participate in the annual Guildford Heritage week of events. Each piece Adam creates is unique and the process is highly intuitive with minute changes leading to variations in the colour effect and shape produced. For larger pieces, Adam has a small team to assist him and he likens his role to the lead violinist in a string quartet in the evolving composition of the glass. “As with any composition, the dynamic and the work can change depending on who else is in the team” A visit to his studio reveals the great variety of the work produced. The glass produced consists of one-off artworks, such as those in his “Imaginary Landscape”, “Strata” and “Cloud Garden” series, commissions for individuals, and trade orders where a range of work is produced and repeated for sale to galleries and museum shops. Adam also spends most weekends teaching his popular half-day courses, Introduction to Glassblowing for Beginners. From 2014 to 2016, Adam worked on a major commission with fellow Surrey artist Mary Branson. Her permanent sculpture “New Dawn”, incorporating 168 blown glass elements made by Adam, was installed in the Houses of Parliament in June, 2016. You can read more about New Dawn here: http://adamaaronson.com/new-dawn-at-westminster-hall/
Katrina Beattie
Katrina Beattie Glass designer / Maker Stowford Manor Farm Wingfield Wiltshire BA14 9LH Tel: 01225 774682 Website: www.katrinabeattieglass.co.uk Email: info@katrinabeattieglass.co.uk In her own words: ‘My career path started in a design office training to be a design engineer for an industrial ventilation company. I soon realised that I wanted to go to art college to draw curves and fulfil the desire to create craft with my hands. These early transferable skills have resonated with the precision elements within my glass. This range of Murrini Glass is made by fusing bars of glass and slicing them up into tiny Murrini pieces to reveal its pattern. I then rearrange the Murinni to create more complex patterns. Multiple kiln firings and working with inherent properties within the glass i capture chemical reactions between specific colours, revealing depth and intrigue. Working with Murrini glass is my modern interpretation on an ancient Venetian technique. I am seduced and inspired by the process of endless pattern possibilities, creating mystery to the viewer who wonders 'how was that made?' I have been making glass for 27 years now and I enjoy a crossover of glass disciplines. Working in kiln forming, glass blowing and lamp working allows me to bridge techniques.
I am also passionate about teaching glass and keeping the art alive, creating transparency by sharing techniques. I currently teach at West Dean College near Chichester. I sell my glass in the Sussex Guild shop in Lewes and can normally be found at Bath Christmas market every year. My rural studio is on the Somerset Wiltshire border.’ Katrina Beattie is a glass designer/maker specialising in glass blowing and kiln formed techniques. Her exclusive hand blown glass incorporates copper wire inclusions which traps air creating bubbles and casting refractive light. Each individual piece is hand blown Dartington Crystal and is signed and dated by the artist. Katrina’s kiln formed ‘Lattice Bowls’ display a matrix of holes formed. The fascinating process inspired her to push boundaries challenging the use of glass as a vessel which is normally a solid form. Her kiln formed ‘Bubble Bowls’ are a further development on from the ‘Lattice Bowls’ and are inspired by a glass blowing technique called ‘Reticello’. This ancient Venetian technique generally has a mesh of white glass threads interwoven to form a grid where small bubbles form in the gaps. Katrina’s interpretation creates intrigue to the viewer who wonders ‘How did these bubbles get inside with such precision and regularity!’
Education 2009 3 day West Dean, Sussex
Lampworking Bead course with Barbara Mason at
2008 10 day Bullseye Educators Forum with Tom Jacobs at Northlands Glass, Scotland 2005 3 week Seattle, USA
Class with Randy Walker at the Pilchuck Glass School,
2001 1 week Glass, Scotland
Master Class with Dante Marioni at North Lands
2000 1 week Scotland
Master Class with Dick Marquis at North Lands Glass,
1995 – 1996 West Midlands
W.M.A.F. Glass skills and Technology at Brierley Hill,
1992 – 1995 Farnham, Surrey
BA Hons Degree in 3D Design in Glass at S.A.I.D.
1990 – 1992 North Wales
BTEC National Diploma in Glass at N.E.W.I. Wrexham,
Associations 2003 – 2006: Member of Red Herring Studios – www.redherringstudios.org 1997 – Present: Member of the Sussex Guild - www.thesussexguild.co.uk
Teaching 2008 – Present Teaching short courses at West Dean College – www.westdean.org.uk 2001 – Present Teaching courses at Liquid Glass Centre – www.liquidglasscentre.co.uk
Fleur Grenier
Fleur Grenier Pewtersmith / Glass Artist Mettle Studios, Roundstone Bypass, Angmering, W. Sussex, BN16 4BD
Tel: 07761 385267 Website: www.fleurgrenier.co.uk Email: design@fleurgrenier.co.uk
Fleur completed her M.A. on The Goldsmithing, Silversmithing Metalwork & Jewellery course at The Royal College of Art, London in 1996 and have since established a studio in W. Sussex . She is a member of The Sussex Guild, The Surrey Guild, Contemporary Glass Society and a Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Pewterers. In 2013 she started to attend the Smithbrook glassblowing studio to learn Glassblowing with the master of glassblower Jake Mee, this has opened a whole new area for Fleur with her work. The glass and pewter compliment each other perfectly and has led to a whole new series of work for Fleur. Movement and fluidity are the main influences for her work each piece is designed to capture these elements. Her current range of work has developed from a series of drawings of molten lava. The pieces have been created to look like the pewter and glass are swirling and enveloping each other and also show the intense variations of colour between the static cooled lava and the flowing lava stream. She has won several awards for her designs, such as The Craft & Design Magazine, silver award for the metalwork category, also awarded by the Craft and Design Magazine an award for her pewter and glass at the Made Brighton show, the International Design Network Federation, New York (IDNF) and The Worshipful Company of Pewterers and commissions include a pewter and glass bowl that was presented to the Countess of Wessex at the Worshipful Company of Pewterers, the RFU (Rugby Football Union) Commemorative gifts, Award for St Catherine’s School, Chain of Office Rustington Parish Council, and a Sculptural Box that was presented to the Mayor of Durmersheim to
commemorate the 25th Twinning Anniversary and in 2010 she had her book Pewter Design and Techniques published by The Crowood Press. In November 2014 she was invited to The Worshipful Company of Pewterers to strike her mark at a touchmark ceremony, this is the first time for 10 years. The Worshipful Company of Pewterers was established in 1478 to take control of the expanding pewter trade. On completing an apprenticeship, pewterers were required to register a ‘touchmark‘to be stamped on their wares, which had to meet set standards of quality. Inspectors or ‘searchers’ from the Company travelled around England visiting workshops and testing items. Substandard wares, often containing too much lead, incurred fines and were liable to destruction. The ceremony is now done purely for makers to register their marks so future generations can identify pewter pieces. The ceremony involved stamping my name punch onto a pewter sheet in front of the court and the master. She now feels very honoured to have her mark alongside the many other pewtersmiths from the last 500 years.
Glassblowing is new skill for Fleur starting in 2013, it has become one that she is very passionate and excited about as it has taken her work in a new direction. All of her designs are individual and sculptural in style. Movement and fluidity are the main influences for her work each piece is designed to capture these elements and now she is combining the pewter with hand blown glass the two materials complement each other perfectly. Her current range of work has developed from a series of drawings of molten lava. The pewter swirling and moving, while with the blown glass some have been created to look like it is flowing over the pewter and others show the flow but also intense variations of colour between the static cooled lava and the flowing lava stream. In November 2015 Fleur received The Made, Craft & Design Magazine award for her glass which was a wonderful recognition for this new area of Fleur’s designs. In her own words: ‘Pewtersmithing has been my main discipline for the last 20 years, I was introduced to it while studying for my degree at Sir John Cass and it is here that my passion for the metal began. I loved the fluidity of it and the variety of processes and techniques that could be used. I do not think I fully appreciated the depth of my knowledge until I was commissioned to write a book on it. Pewter is often overlooked as a material, the book for me was a way to not only pass on these skills but also the beauty of this metal. I initially started glassblowing as it was another material that I had a great enthusiasm for and I knew that the glass would complement the pewter and take my work in a new direction. All of my designs are individual and sculptural in style, movement and fluidity have always been a strong influence on my work. Combining the pewter and hand-blown glass seemed a natural progression for my work as the two materials complement each other perfectly. The transparency of the glass adding colour and the reflections off the pewter creating intriguing dimensions to the pieces. My current collection has developed from a series of drawings of molten lava, the pewter swirling and moving while the blown glass have been created to look like it is flowing over, through and around the pewter, creating a continuing cycle of movement .
I believe that my approach to working with the glass is different to how a glass artist would, as I am constantly thinking how the pewter will work with it as it is of equal importance to the final piece, as is the quality of how the piece is executed, to make each one unique. The fact that both materials have such strong historical references in our culture for skills and items made, is another inspiration to continue learning, passing on skills and creating distinctive work.’
Curriculum Vitae Education 1994 – 1996 1990 – 1994 1988 - 1990 1987 – 1988
M.A. Royal College of Art - Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork & Jewellery. Sir John Cass, London Guild Hall University - B.A. (Hons) Jewellery, Silversmithing, Metalwork & allied Crafts. Northbrook College – BTEC. 3 Dimensional Product Design. Northbrook College – Preliminary Course, College Certificate.
Other qualifications & skills 2003 – 2004 City & Guilds 7407 Certificate in Further Education Teaching 2013 – present Continuous development and learning glassblowing skills, Smithbrook Glassblowing Studio, Cranleigh, Surrey. Feb 2006 European Union, Leonardo d’ Vinci programme. The project was developed to create opportunities for craftspeople to learn new skills in France or Italy. I worked for a week with a knife and cutlery producer in Laguiole en Aubrac. Awards March 2016 Silver Award. Metalwork & Wood Category, Selected Maker, Craft & Design Magazine. Nov 2015 Craft & Design magazine award at MADE Brighton, for pewter and glass collection . June 2015 2nd Prize Pewter Live Open Competition Nov 2014 Registered ‘Touchmark’ at a Ceremony held at the Worshipful Company of Pewterers. June 2014 2nd Prize Pewter Live Open Competition June 2010 3rd Prize Pewter Live Open Competition May 2010 Designed & made East Grinstead 25th Anniversary Triathlon Medals
2000 Commissions Jan 2016 June 2013 Oct 2011 May 2010 Oct 2009 Sept 2009 Sept 2006 1998 1996 Memberships 2015 March 2009 2005 2004 Exhibitions May 2017 April 2017
3rd Prize, International Design Network Foundation competition, New York. Competition organized by IDNF for a Japanese cutlery manufacturer.
Communion set The Carey Baptist Church, Northampton. Pewter and glass bowl presented to the Countess of Wessex, by The Worshipful Company of Pewterers Series of bowls to be presented as gifts by the Rugby Union (RFU) 'Pewter Design & Techniques' - Fleur Grenier, Published by Crowood Press Series of bowls to be presented as gifts by the Rugby Union (RFU) Award for St Catherine’s School, Guildford. Commissioned to design and make Chain of Office for Rustington Parish council. Snap Marketing Organization, promotional gift for L’Oreal. Developed Range of ceramic Sanitary ware and accessories for Ideal Standard.
Member of the CGS. Contemporary Glass Society Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers Membership to Surrey Guild of Contemporary Crafts Membership to Sussex Guild Contemporary & Traditional Crafts. Also a committee member.
'Crystal Clear, Art by Aaronson, Beattie and Grenier'. Horsham Museum & Art Gallery, Horsham. 'Line Form Light'. Colonnade House, Worthing, W.Sussex
Sept- Oct 2016 Bourneside Gallery, Dorking. Line Colour Form June- Aug 2016 Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, with The Sussex Guild Aug – Sept 2015 Pewter Now, Cockington Court House, Torquay. May 2013 Oriel Gallery at Antrim Castle Gardens and Clotworthy Hous, Antrim, Northern Irelan. More than Floral July – Sept 2012 Nature in Art, Gloucester. More than Floral May-July 2012 Waterside Arts Centre,Manchester . More than Floral Sept –Oct 2011 Three Highland Galleries, More than Floral July – Aug 2011 Inverness Museum . More than Floral Oct – Nov 2011 Silver - The 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Black Swan Arts, Somerset April – June 2011 Bilston Craft Gallery, More than Floral May – July 2012 Cooper Gallery, Barnsley Nov-Jan 2009 Effervessece III, West Dean, Barn Galleries, Chichester Oct – Dec 08 Woodland Exhibition, The Gallery, Bishops Castle July 2008 Art in Action, Demonstraters Marquee Jan – March 2008 Shire Hall Galleries, Craft for Men 2. Stafford December 2007 Effervessence, Sussex Barn Gallery. West Dean, W. Sussex December 2007 Shire Hall Gallery, Christmas Exhibition, Stafford March 2007 River House Barn Gallery, Exhibition. Henley upon Thames July 2007 Art in Action, jewellery & metalworking demonstrating marquee. Nov -Jan 2006 Hove Museum & Art Gallery, First Sight Showcase. Sept – Nov 2006 Worthing Museum & Art Gallery, Worthing May – Sept 2006 The Cetra Gallery & Studio, Wirral Nov – Dec 2005 Bonhoga Gallery, Sheltlands Nov – Dec 2005 Sussex Barn Gallery, West Dean College December 2004 Tunbridge Wells Museum. Oct – Nov 2004 Land Meets Sea, Littlehampton Museum Nov 03 –Jan 04 Sheffield Millennium Galleries Exhibition, Christmas Crackers.
Galleries Zimmer Gallery: 29 Tarrant St, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9DG The Manchester Craft Centre: 17 Oak St, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 5JD Cockington Court Gallery: Cockington Lane, Torquay, TQ2 6XA Sussex Guild Gallery: The North Wing, Southover Rd, Lewes, E. Sussex, BN7 1TP