A Wonderful Tension, the Glass Sculptures of John Kiley

Wonderful Tension the Art of John Kiley

A wonderful tension emerges between the act of deconstruction, the process of reconstruction, and the result of visual transcendence.

Wonderful Tension the Art of

John Kiley

John Kiley coldworking.

A Wonderful Tension

Photo by Russell Johnson

by Jeanne Koles

John Kiley honed his glass-making skills under the tutelage of giants of the field—names like Moore, Chihuly, Marioni, and Tagliapietra.

Today, this training feels like prologue in the development of a glass sculptor pushing the medium to dazzling ends. When Kiley ventured on his own he focused on refined forms, transparency, and the essential characteristics of color. His signature technique joins separate hand-blown glass forms together and emphasizes the membrane between them. Incised cutouts and passageways reveal a multiplicity of perspectives, shapes, and reflections—light in continual flux. Grace is achieved through the dichotomy between a whole and its parts, internal and external looking, and positive and negative space.

Today, the basic architecture of Kiley’s sculpture has remained essentially unchanged. Being an artist is about repetition, but also about pushing ones creative process within a specific style. Much like life, an artist progresses

Skagit Halo, 2015 17 x 13.5 x 13”, Private collection

and matures but is always fundamentally himself. From this cardinal place, much has evolved in Kiley’s work.

A few years ago, Kiley was doing studies for Evenfall, a large-scale, opaque composite sculpture very unlike his glass work, in which a solid exterior camouflages the interior joints where the individual pieces meet.

This exercise brought him a fuller understanding of how his sculptural forms functioned. Kiley used this as a springboard during a residency at the Museum of Glass in 2014, when he further developed a recent technique of adding a “halo” of glass in between two connected glass forms to highlight the membrane even more. Back in the clarity of glass, Kiley exposed his remarkable interiors through equally resplendent, and multi-layered transparent exteriors. Incorporating the third color draws even more attention to the membrane and opens even more avenues for the optical interplay of color, light, and reflection. In Skagit Halo (2015), an elegant yellow ring is poised between fiery crimson and cool amethyst, pulling the viewer through the open circle and into its orbit.

Even more dramatically, Kiley has expanded his lexicon of cutaways, which in turn has enhanced the combination of arcs and curves the artist can achieve. Twisting Overlap (2014) turns a simple sphere into an evolving geometric landscape of shapes depending on the viewpoint.

A sculpture comprised of only two colors becomes a kaleidoscope, overlapping combinations of hues occurring as one twists around the sculpture.

Another evolution in Kiley’s oeuvre is the juxtaposition of several works together, whether stacked, wall-mounted, or hanging from the ceiling. If a single sculpture appears to balance impossibly on a precarious edge, the feat of three sculptures stacked one atop another without any adhesive defies the laws of physics. Garden Tower (2015) celebrates many facets of vintage Kiley—blue and green glass segments cut and fused together with a single membrane. However, the totemic assemblage of three works in a single, breathtaking piece exponentially increases their visual impact with a unique relationship to negative space, expanded reflections and shadows, multiplied and shifting contours, and heightened depth of color.

Ever since childhood, Kiley has been intrigued by the idea of creating a perfect object then breaking it. When Kiley blows a flawless sphere of glass, then saws out large sections, flattens it against another sphere, and contours it in the cold working phase, he is satisfying that urge. But he is also consummating a heightened level of perfection. A wonderful tension emerges between the act of deconstruction, the process of reconstruction, and the result of visual transcendence.

Jeanne Koles is an independent museum professional with a focus on cultural communications.

Garden Tower, 2015 29.75 x 10 x 10�

Aquatic Halo, 2015 13.5 x 13.5 x 13�

Deconstructed Sunrise, 2015 17.25 x 16.5 x 15.5�

Spring Crosscut, 2015 13 x 14.5 x 13�

Storm Division, 2015 12.5 x 12.5 x 13�

Optic Connection, 2015 12.5 x 15 x 7�

Twisting Overlap, 2014 14 x 12.5 x 13�

Cerulean Loop, 2015 16 x 15 x 14�

Falcon, 2015 17 x 17 x 16�

Dibble, 2015 12.5 x 12 x 11”

Kiley torching a blown vessel.

Photo by Russell Johnson

“Constantly, I ask myself the question why do I choose to work with glass?

Transparency, optics, the physical challenge, or a primal fascination with fire, are valid reasons that many glass objects are created. For me, it is important that these material attributes work in service of the sculpture, rather than be the reason for the sculpture. I am drawn to how glass, and its perceived delicacy and preciosity, can create a sense of tension, concern and longing in the viewer (and myself). The final decision I make before a piece is complete is how it will be situated. During this final step, there is a moment when I don’t known for sure if it will survive or lie broken on the studio floor. It is in this final step that each piece finds its own unique balance; it is in this moment that the sculpture emerges and comes to life.”

SELECTED COLLECTIONS The Museum Of Glass, Tacoma, WA The Shanghai Museum of Glass, Shanghai, China Sandy Baklor & Arlene Kaufman Al Berger & Carol Auerbach Jeffrey Bronfman The Kaplan/Ostergaard Collection Frank Everett Sir Elton John Perry Farrell Jim Flaws and Marcia Weber Snohomish County The Seven Bridges Foundation Emirates Airlines Fly Dubai Airlines Qatar Airlines

Wonderful Tension the Art of John Kiley Schantz Galleries Summer 2015 Wonderful Tension the Art of John Kiley Š 2015 Schantz Galleries Stockbridge, Mass.

(413) 298-3044 Silver City Design Essay: Jeanne Koles Artwork photos by Jeff Curtis Portraits by Russell Johnson

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