Grace in Glass the Art of Shelley Muzylowski Allen
Grace in Glass the Art of SHELLEY MUZYLOWSKI ALLEN
SCHANTZ GALLERIES STOCKBRIDGE SUMMER 2015
Grace and Power
by Jeanne Koles
Archetypal symbols are a powerful touch point between artist and viewer. When an artist explores a theme that has been significant throughout the ages and cultures, her work has a dialogue with a broad group of viewers and taps into a deep place in the human psyche. For glass artist Shelley Muzylowski Allen, that symbol is the horse: utilitarian, mystical, powerful, and gentle, depicted throughout time, from different perspectives, and in a variety of media. For Allen, it is important that her art not only reflect her own experiences, but that it inspire an emotional connection for the viewer. Her menagerie of exquisite horses, safari animals, and magical creatures is indeed inspirational. Blending her glass-blowing and carving ability in shaping the form with her painterly use of color, gesture, and brushwork in decorating it, results in meticulously crafted, expressively poised, and lusciously adorned sculptures. Allen was born in Canada but honed her glass-sculpting chops as an assistant to William Morris in Washington from 1998-2004. In 2005, she established a glass and sculpture studio with her husband, artist Rik Allen, in Skagit County, Washington. She has taught internationally and in the United States, won several awards, been a guest artist at many prestigious glass studios, and is represented nationally and internationally in public and private collections. Her inspiration comes equally from her beautiful Washington surroundings as it does from her various travels; her art historical interests range from the Lascaux caves to medieval tapestries to early botanical drawings. Her recent stint as a guest artist at the Toyama Institute of Glass in Japan connected her with a tradition popularized during the Edo period called netsuke. These miniature sculpture containers hang from obi (kimono sashes) and are lidded with splendidly carved interpretations of Japanese folklore. (continued)
Shelley drawing in her studio, photo by Russell Johnson
Indigo Gazelle Dagger,
Blown & off-hand sculpted glass, horse hair, steel stand, 29 x 13 x 8"
Recent work like Indigo Gazelle Dagger reflects the netsuke tradition, the gazelle functioning like a finial on top of a vessel. The dagger shape of the vessel may refer to the fact that the rare red gazelle, hunted for its fine pelt, was rendered extinct in the late-19th century. The obsidian dagger base celebrates form and contour, while the perched gazelle connects emotionally with the viewer. Earthly grace is embodied in its elegantly bowed neck while divine power is expressed in the iconographic decoration. Rich colors are layered into the glass with powders as Allen works. Often, after the piece is cooled, she will drill small holes to add other elements or draw on the glass with a fine diamond bit to enhance the design. There is candidness and rawness in Allen’s animals, derivative of the creative process itself which Allen describes as rhythmic in a way that parallels the rhythms of life and intuitive in a way that only glass allows. Her inclusion of natural elements like horse hair, quartz, and rocks she finds on her walks lends itself to this organic feeling. Wild Blue (2015) embodies the essence of the physical animal, its bucking posture visceral and instinctual. But, his vivid coloration takes him beyond representation to an otherworldly place of magic, mythology, and the sacred. As with all her work, Allen has skillfully positioned the viewer at the precipice of the earthly and the heavenly, where we are invited to consider both simultaneously.
Jeanne Koles is an independent museum professional with a focus on cultural communications.
Wild Blue, Blown & off-hand sculpted glass, horse hair, Glacial Green Quartz, steel
30 x 19 x 9�
Standing Deer, Blown & off-hand sculpted glass, 3 Rivers Rock, steel 28 x 14 x 8�
By the Bull, Blown & off-hand sculpted glass, steel
16 x 25 x 6�
High Noon, Blown and hand-sculpted glass, rock (origin Mexico), steel 29 x 25 x 8"
Celadon HippoKampus,
Blown & off-hand sculpted glass, Cypress Island rock, steel 26 x 16 x 12�
Song,
Blown & off-hand sculpted and engraved glass, steel 20 x 14 x 11�
Blueblood, Blown & off-hand sculpted glass, horse hair, Glacial Green Quartz, steel
21.5 x 19 x 11�
White Rhino, Blown and hand-sculpted, engraved glass, steel
10.5 x 10 x 5"
Grace in Glass the Art of SHELLEY MUZYLOWSKI ALLEN SCHANTZ GALLERIES STOCKBRIDGE
SUMMER 2015
Grace in Glass the Art of Shelley Muzylowski-Allen © 2015 Schantz Galleries Stockbridge, Mass. (413) 298-3044 Silver City Design Essay: Jeanne Koles Photos: Russell Johnson, KP-Studios.com
Schantz Galleries c o n t e m p o r a r y
g l a s s
3 elm street, stockbridge, ma
www.schantzgalleries.com