Cast, Cut, and Cold
Schantz Galleries Stockbridge, MA 2017
Cast, Cut, and Cold
Detail of Semblance, by Fiaz Elson
Images on the on the right pages are links to the works available and the left pages in this catalog are linked to a brief biography on the artist. For more information on the art or the aritsts, please contact the gallery.
Glass is an amazing medium. Whether in front of a furnace or a grinding wheel, the nature of the glass allows it to be formed by the person who holds it. The only limit to its potential is the imagination, and of course the technical acumen of the maker. It is a medium from which so many different artistic techniques can be used, and so many uses are yet to be discovered. Out of necessity and the inherent nature of the medium, working with hot glass is a more spontaneous process than when it is cast or cold worked. The process is very time consuming and many people do not realize that coldworking can take months for one piece.
Karsten Oaks polishing the glass.
Many steps are necessary for working cold. Often a solo experience, some artists may begin by using diamond edged wheels to cut from precast blocks of lead or optical crystal or perhaps sheets of flat glass. Sand casting involves the use of hot molten glass poured directly into a preformed mold. Kiln casting involves the preparation of a mold, by first making a “positive� out of wood, metal, wax, foam, clay or alternative sculptural material, from which they then make a heat resistant mold, such as metal, graphite, plaster, or sand. Into this mold, molten glass is poured and annealed. In other instances, fine (frit) or chunky glass (cullet) is placed into the mold, then fired in a kiln and slowly annealed before further coldworking is done. For larger sculptures, a team is used due to the heavier weight and the time it takes to monitor the annealing process, which can take weeks to months. Once out of the kiln, the coldworking begins, using tools and processes that do not rely on heat to change the surface or the shape of the glass. Coldworking methods include grinding, carving, engraving, polishing, sandblasting, and other techniques. A loud and wet process, the sculptor wears a rubber apron, boots, protective eye and ear gear. The results are as varied as the personalities of each artist. Realistic, abstract, minimal, or complex sculptures may be realized through their process. This October, we are honored to feature works by artists we represent whose work is Cast, Cut and Cold. Schantz Galleries, 2017
Mark Abildgaard
“I have found inspiration in looking at the artifacts from many different cultures that are able to convey a sense of mystery about mankind’s existence through time. I use images of totems, boats and figures in my work to explore ideas about the cycle of life and death. I try to create archetypical images which are not culturally specific. In working with these images, I am seeking a way to combine ancient forms and my own life experiences. I want my work to maintain a connection to the past and at the same time reflect a sense of the immediacy of the moment when glass, light and color interact.”
Shaman Totem, 2017, (detail)
Shaman Totem, 2017, 31 x 21 x 6.5�
Michael Behrens
“I began experimenting with glass in 2002. From the very beginning, I was inspired by nature, especially the alteration of the world and its perception, observed through water. Over the years this fascination led me to a profound involvement with the relationship between outer shape and content. Transferring old shapes giving way to a new expressive form language. As with every sculptor, the model is placed in a special context interrelating with its surrounding. While creating glass objects, its transparency needs to be taken into consideration as the sculpture functions as a visible space.”
Seaforms, 2016, 18.5 x 11.4 x 4.3”
Seaforms, 2015, 20.1 x 10.2 x 4.7”
Alex Bernstein
“I feel as if I am an explorer. With each piece I make I prepare for a journey, I have a general idea where I want to go, but I never know where the path will lead me. Each piece I work on I set out in the hopes of discovering something new and exciting. As any explorer my journeys are filed with ups and downs, disappointments and breakthroughs, however with each piece I am sure to gain knowledge and insight which is the excitement that brings me to my studio every day.”
Green New Eye, 2017, 14 x 14 x 2”
Neo New Eye, 2017, 14 x 14 x 2”
Latchezar Boyadjiev
“The main focus of my work is to create dynamic shapes supported by sensual lines that will gradually evolve from an idea on paper to a sculpture in glass - and combined with light it will have a powerful impact on the viewer. I want my work to become a part of modern architecture and a contemporary environment, to reflect the era in which we live.”
Torso VII, 2015, 18 x 12 x 4”
Embrace, 2015, 21 x 14 x 3.5�
Peter Bremers
Peter Bremers calls upon his training as a sculptor by carving a model from blocks of hard industrial foam. When the molds are ready they are carefully filled with colored glass. After the process of kiln-baking and slowly cooling the glass, the forms are unearthed from their protective cocoon, ground and polished to perfection; flawless abstractions of landscapes, figures, and a state of mind are born.
Femininity III, 2016, 30 x 8 x 8�
Torso, 2016, 31.6 x 12 x 8�
William Carlson
“Issues of language and evolving technologies are a focus and ongoing concern with my sculpture. History offers us an informed perspective as we reexamine and contextualize our currency as artists or interpreters of aesthetic development. Art can be employed as a powerful communication device or visual mechanism in pursuit of abstract issues referential to historic technologies.”
Construct Series, 2017, 21.5 x 14.5 x 6”
Contruo, 2011, 48 x 52�
Daniel Clayman
Both technician and artist, Daniel Clayman has developed many processes highly specific to his needs as a sculptor. “The work is a continual, always evolving exploration of simple forms. Using a vocabulary of extremely simple forms whose scale ranges from three to nine feet; these objects describe volumes in space. Some of the pieces are easily identifiable as vessels and may allude to holding volumes of water. Others are pure abstraction holding only quantities of air and space. By taking away any real solid mass, I am left with just the skins of glass, bronze or graphite that define a measure of capacity.”
Handled Object 16, 2016, 17.75 x 8 x 1.25”
Aperature 4, 2009, 17 x 17 x 14.5�
Fiaz Elson
Fiaz Elson’s glass sculptures are expressive in their form, provoking an emotional and intellectual response. She investigates form and volume to communicate and respond to the material but also to create tension and contradictions. They explore our emotive worlds; experiences and memories that make us who we are. We all have several sides to our personalities and, consciously or unconsciously, we reveal or keep them hidden. This concept is expressed using curves, angles, line, color and space.
Bridging Light, 2017, 13.78 x 12.6 x 2.36�
Paradox ll, 2017, 15.25 x 9.75 x 2.25�
Robin Grebe
Robin Grebe uses cast glass, ceramic glazes, and transparent enamels to create her monolithic and allegorical human forms. Originally inspired by Greek Cycladic fertility goddesses, Grebe’s sculptures seem both fragile and strong. To her, they illustrate the paradoxes of human life. Grebe’s work has been shown in Europe and the United States and can be found in many private and public connections worldwide, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.
Found and Made, 2016, 18 x 14 x 5”
Placed among the Stars, 2013, 28 x 11 x 5�
Eric Hilton
“Art for me is a vehicle that synthesizes order into the awe of existence. It is the vehicle for dance, music, poetry, literature and the visual arts. It represents the soul of human consciousness.” Eric Hilton’s true passion is in the creative process in the molding, etching, cutting, sandblasting and the polishing of each work. You can find the elements of life - earth, air, fire, and water in his work. “I am influenced by nature from which infinite information can be gleaned”
Winter’s Eye,(detail from cover image), 2015, 24 x 18 x 6”
Vibration of Life, 2015, 12 x 23 x 23�
David Huchthausen
“Creation is a continual and evolutionary process, constantly digesting and reevaluating past experiences and current perspectives. My work has always been deliberately enigmatic and mysterious. I constantly strive to generate a strange and curious quality that both tantalizes and challenges the viewer to develop his own response system. The work must have an existence of its own if it is to have any real significance.�
Apogee, 2013, 10� diameter
Sphere Seven, 2007, 8� diameter
Sidney Hutter
“My interests in design and architecture and a background in glass blowing and fabrication formed the foundation for my body of work. As my art evolved I began to develop and create specialized techniques using plate glass and ultraviolet adhesives. These techniques lead me to depict a three-dimensional image of a vase using two-dimensional components.”
Middy Polished Plate Glass Vase #17, 2017, 12.5 x 6.5 x 6.5”
Middy Vertical Vase #3, 2017, 14 x 9 x 7.25�
Vladimira Klumparova
Vladimíra Klumparová’s art alternates between an emphasis on geometric forms and organic forms. Sometimes her works contain a hidden inspiration from the dynamism of America, while at other times they possess a yearning for peace, harmony and being in consonance with Czech or Mexican nature. However, her work is characterized by a philosophical subtext and poetic playfulness that makes it accessible to sensitive and perceptive audiences throughout the world. ~ Oldřich Palata
Rhythm in Crystal, 2015, 26 x 12 x 6”
Drop in the Landscape, 2012, 15 1/2 x 14 x 14�
K. William LeQuier
Bill LeQuier’s appreciation of the strength and serendipity of nature has moved his work in a new direction. Free flowing strands of carved glass are laminated with other layers to create depth and a complexity of intersecting lines. These sculptures of fluid motion vividly represent a momentary event in nature. “My experimentation with varying depths of carving combined with different resist materials yielded unexpected and exciting results and gave me new directions to explore.”
Perigean Spring, 2017, 30 x 24 x 2.5”
Synergy, 2017, 29 x 16.5 x 2.5�
Pavel Novak
Pavel Novak was born in the Czech Republic. There, he trained as a cold worker and was employed at the Glass School in Novy Bor, where he taught cold working techniques. Novak’s sculptures are made from the highest grade of optical glass which is ground, polished, laminated, colored, and sand blasted.
Minaret, 2017, 14 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2�
Trigons, 2017, 7 x 12.5 x 7.5�
Karsten Oaks
“When I start a sculpture, I begin construction of the form. I think abstractly about fluid mechanics, and try to create a negative space within the form which gives a sense of movement to the sculpture. The process of construction itself inspires me as much as the form. I begin with blocks that are cut to approximate the overall shape, and then sand them white so that the form can be the sole focus. The internal cutting is largely inspired by line quality and how it can be interpreted three dimensionally. I strive to make artwork that evokes feelings similar to the way the sharpness of handwriting or the gesture of one’s hands while talking can cause the viewer to feel an emotional connection.”
Contorted Crescent, 2017, 13 x 12 x 6”
Abstracted Convolution, 2017, 19 x 12 x 10�
Christopher Ries
Ries works in the traditional reductive sculptural mode, starting with a block of solid optical glass and reducing it to his desired form. His luminous works are characterized by their technical perfection and the seemingly magical, everchanging optical patterns within. Ries himself characterizes his work as a “vessel for light,” noting that “all that we know about the universe, the composition of the stars, and the distances within the universe is studied through light...It is the one medium that gathers, focuses, amplifies, transmits, filters, diffuses and reflects it. It is the quintessential medium for light. I see it all on a symbolic level.”
Winter’s Eye, 2015, 24 x 18 x 6”
Vibration of Life, 2015, 12 x 23 x 23�
Martin Rosol
Influenced most by architectural studies, Martin’s sculptures, in the words on one admirer, are “works of elegant design and craftsmanship”. Made with several pieces of glass precisely cut from blocks of crystal, the glass is constructed in architectural forms after selected surfaces have been sand-blasted. The sculptures are multi-dimensional; some surfaces clear, some opaque. The results are “monuments to light”.
Eye in the Sky, 2017, 11.5 x 15.5 x 5”
Window, 2017, 12 x 15.5 x 3�
Thomas Scoon
Thomas Scoon focuses exclusively on the human figure, abstracting it while still emphasizing the essence of gender, gesture and other human characteristics. The organic granite stones have spectacular traces of quartz, mica and iron running throughout them, and juxtaposed with the translucent glass, result in works that balance the beauty of nature and explore familial and generational relationships, both as a personal narrative and universal construct.
Reflections, 2017,32.5 x 7 x 9�, 30 x 7 x 10�
Ethereal, 2017, 25 x 5.5 x 10�
Winnie Teschmacher
“Being an artist is the best excuse for self-awareness. Often, the work is ahead of me. I work from a certain logic, a golden ratio or a number of logical sequences. I know that this works because it matches with me as a person. It matches with cathedrals, temples, it matches with spaces of silence. However large or small, the proportions are always right. Next, it’s important to keep surprising myself. It has to surprise, move and touch me.”
Trailokya, 2016, 6 x 6 x 11”
The Eye Inside, 2013, 12 x 6 x 6�
Bertil Vallien
“...ladling matter out of a volcano and watching the glowing lava turn into ice. Knowing the exact moment at which to capture a shift of light or expression and wrench the secret from the glass is what it’s all about.” As the foremost artist working in sand-casted glass, Vallien combines his creative and industrial training in an innovative approach to this very classical medium. Each Vallien piece tells a unique story
Idols, 2017, 45 x 42.72 x 3.94”
Innosense, 2017, 9.5 x 6 x 6�
Steven Weinberg
“My art has always been about a way to gain control over my environment. Through the process of making objects I can set parameters and make sense of space whereas my day-to-day life borders on unmanageable chaos. I find peace in the process of making art juxtaposed to the uncertainty of everyday living. It is within this dichotomy that I achieve a sense of balance, of organization, even if it is fleeting, and unsustainable. I manage to achieve harmony within a world that has spun out of control.”
Vintage Cube, 1993, 9 x 9 x 9”
Nayatt Point, 2014, 6.75 x 14.25 x 4�
Schantz Galleries contemporary
glass
Cast Cut and Cold Published by Schantz Galleries, 2017 3 Elm Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 01262 (413) 298-3044 www.schantzgalleries.com Catalog Design: Kim Saul Photos Šthe artists A special Thank You to all the photographers who helped to make this publication possible. For more information on the art or the aritsts, please contact the gallery.