NEW GLASS ENGLAND
Krikorian Gallery September 26 - November 7, 2019
Jim Schantz
director, schantz galleries It is an honor to have had the opportunity to curate New Glass/New England, for the Krikorian Gallery, at the Worcester Center for Crafts. I am extremely pleased by the incredible quality of work in this exhibition. These thirty-four artists represent a wide range of technique and background, balanced with diversity of imagination. We have a vast wealth of talent and ability in New England, which clearly identifies the quality of our academic and technical programs as well as establishing this part of the country as a region for creative growth. This artistic vigor reflects the strength of such programs at RISD, Mass Art, MIT, Salem State, and WCC, as well as the numerous private glass studios. I hope this exhibition will continue the dialogue about the identity of a region that has great resources in education and environment for artists. My goal was to create a comprehensive exhibition of established and emerging artists. It should be noted that there are artists who have also been very influential who were unable to participate in this exhibition due to prior commitments. As sole curator, this is a product of one person’s opinion and experience, and as I went through the process of curating, it became evident that this exhibition could have been expanded even further. It has been gratifying to witness how this opportunity gave some artists an incentive to create a new work or push their art in a different direction. I appreciated the opportunity to discover new and emerging talent. I believe New Glass/New England is a tribute to the range of artistic work and ideas in the region, and it creates a forum for further discussion and exploration. It is my hope that this strong representation of artists is part of the conversation of the evolution of the medium. I would like to thank the artists for sharing their work in this exhibition and for the commitment to their work. I would also like to thank Candace Casey for the opportunity to curate this exhibition and her commitment to the arts.
New Glass/ New England
September 26 - November 7, 2019
Curated By: Jim Schantz
Melissa Ayotte, Emmett Barnacle, Josh Bernbaum, William Carlson, Dan Clayman, Shaun Conroy, Eric Cruze and Tomo Sakai, Robert Dane, Martin and Erik Demaine, Bernie D’Onofrio, Robin Grebe, Peter Houk, Sidney Hutter, Claire Kelly, Aron Leaman, K. William LeQuier, Susan Shapiro and Andy Magdanz, Martin Rosol, Thomas Scoon, Gale Scott, Josh Simpson, Randi Solin, Debbie Tarsitano, Natalie Tyler, Jennifer Violette, Adam Waimon, James Watkins, Steven Weinberg, Mark and Michiko Weiner, Toots Zynsky
Cover art: Volante by Toots Zynsky
Melissa Ayotte Red Rain Encased glass sculpture 10.5” x 5.5” x 3” In the series, “Circulus,” the opaque, exterior ring acts as a container isolating the very essence of the flame worked florals. The negative, clear space draws the eye toward the flowers, allowing the true beauty of the natural world to come into focus. Suspended in the clarity, the bouquets raise attention of a timelessness felt when beauty enters the eye. Exterior cuts bring highlights to the overall sculpture with the aim of adding even more light into the piece. Ultimately, the circle itself completes the connection between form, viewer and artist.
Emmett Barnacle Deco Vision Cast glass and spalted tamarid 19.5” x 16.5” x 3” My focus is on architecture and memory, while dealing with the concepts of home and human habitat, as well as our relationship with our surroundings. Featuring architectural scenes and cityscapes cast in glass, my work aims to mimic and examine the historic “bare bones” upon which our cities are built. Stylistically interpreted Greco-Roman and Asiatic elements merge, creating playful scenes in lieu of traditional renditions.
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Josh Bernbaum Sonoran Blown glass, ‘granulare’ murrine process 21.5” x 10” x 6” Loosely inspired and influenced by the desert cacti of Arizona and New Mexico, my “Sonoran” series explores proportions, color relationships, and surface textures using murrine processes in blown glass. These pieces have a bumpy, tactile surface texture due to the different colored glasses in the canes that move and stretch at different rates as each piece is inflated and shaped when hot.
William Carlson Nodus Cast Glass 26” x 51.75” x 2.5”
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Dan Clayman Refracted Ray Glass 48” x 8” x 6” Refracted Ray, from 2012, represents a body of work that addresses the possibility of light being a physical, touchable substance. Shine light on floating dust particles and you can see the illuminated path. Look at and touch the sculpture and maybe you are holding light in your hand.
Shaun Conroy Crystal Spiddle Glass Growing up on Cape Cod, being surrounded by the ocean and the vessels that sailed there, I was mesmerized by the sounds of the ocean. The clanging of a boat sail’s rigging from the wind or the cry of a seagull were sounds I found most familiar in my life. When I searched for a purpose as an artist my experiences began to dictate what I became compelled to create. Working with glass fascinated me, particularly the sounds it was capable of making. My intent with my interactive glass sound sculptures is to let the viewer create art with me using the ethereal sounds of the material and open a dialogue between the viewers imagination and their own self reflection.
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Tomo Sakai & Eric Cruze Monolith S2 Hand pulled cane, kilnformed and laminated glass 15” x 15” x 3” The Monolith series explores the variety of patterns created by melting together different types of handmade glass canes. As the pieces of glass melt and fill the in-between spaces, the interaction of clear and colored glass reveals the flow of material at high temperature, and forms a unique, organic three dimensional surface. The final, monolithic piece is a record of a natural transformation, rather than being a representation of nature.
Robert Dane Ibeji Hot sculpted glass 24.75” x 8.5” x 8.5” My most recent series of sculpture is inspired by the folkloric tradition of Afro-Cuban percussion and dance. The music that came from Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas is based not on the individual, but on the group efforts of the community. It takes everyone in the group, playing their part to create the music. I find a strong correlation between this community ritual, and the teamwork of the Italian glassblowing tradition. I celebrate the expression of community, its music, rituals and identity, with my masks, drums, and dancers.
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Martin & Erik Demaine EncounteRED Mi-Teintes watercolor paper and hand-blown glass 8” x 8” x 12” This work explores ways to combine folded paper and hand-blown glass in a kind of “ship in a bottle”. Paper and glass are two mediums that we enjoy and are distinctly different in concept: while we touch paper to fold it, glass is hot and normally not touched. To make the two materials more compatible, we have made some of these glass forms blindfolded, relying almost entirely on touch.
Bernie D’Onofrio Sussinct Hot sculpted glass 8” x 8” x 7” In this new work, ‘Passages’, glass sculptural forms are meant to be a reflection of the complexities of the human condition. Passages define our inner space. This relationship parallels some of the various ways we deal with the conditions of our inner life.
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Robin Grebe Apogee Cast glass, paint, stone base 21” x 15” x 6”
Peter Houk Panel Fused glass 22” x 10.5” x .5” Peter Houk has been working in the field of glass for thirty years. Trained as a painter and printmaker, Houk brings an image-based approach to his work in glass, both blown and architectural, using various painting and sandblasting techniques. Houk’s blown, painted and sandblasted vessel forms are held in numerous private collections as well as the Corning Museum of Glass, the Tacoma Museum of Glass, and the American Museum of Glass at Wheaton Village. His sandblasted and sometimes painted flat glass panels adorn both private and public spaces throughout the USA.
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Sidney Hutter 2 Views of Blue/ Red color Motion, Middy Solid Vase Form #18 Constructed glass sculpture 13.5” x 8.25” x 8.25”
Claire Kelly Civil Twilight Blown glass, sculpted and assembled 22.5” x 8.5” x 4.5” Civil twilight is the brightest of the 3 twilight phases. The Sun is just below the horizon, so there is generally enough natural light to carry out most outdoor activities.
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Aron Leaman Siege 48” x 32” x 13” The lines left in the sand at low tide, the motion of the eddies and current, the pattern that bugs leave on a branch when you remove the bark, these natural patterns have found a way into and have inspired my work. The bird form has been ever present in my work. To me it is a reminder of place and home. Translating the bird shape into glass has been challenging, but the graceful lines and curves lend its self well as a canvas for the patterns and feeling I am creating.
K. William LeQuier Coriolis Laminated plate glass, sandblast and diamond wheel carved. Painted steel stand. 30”h w/ stand x 24” x 2.5” Over the years I have developed a body of work carved from recycled plate glass. Inspired by the color and abundance of used glass shelving stacked to be sold or discarded, I created sculptures from laminated glass plates. The sculptures evolved by layering individually carved plates to create intricate animated constructions evocative of wind, water and the random forces found in nature.
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Susan Shapiro & Andy Magdanz Extremity of Cold: Kings of the Arctic Night Blown glass 26” x 9” x 9” The beauty and dignity of some of our worlds majestic creatures evoke a sensation embedded in our souls. Our collaborations are inspired and influenced by both our world interests, and a combination of our skills. Susie’s dreamlike images and Andy’s unwavering ability to translate her vision and blend with his own, are a merger of very specific ideas.
Martin Rosol Voyage Polished and Laminated Glass 20” x 25” x 3” Martin Rosol attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Prague. He later trained in coldworking at a company school designed to develop craftsmen to execute limited edition designs of functional objects for art glass manufacturers. By night, Rosol began creating abstract work with leftover materials. In 1981, Rosol was awarded the Bavarian State Prize for Glass Sculpture, an award given out each year in Munich for outstanding contributions in decorative art. Rosol and his family immigrated to the United States in the later 1980s, eventually settling in Massachusetts, where Rosol lives and works today.
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Thomas Scoon Generate Cast glass and granite 63.5” x 18” x 10” The layering of kiln-cast glass with stone allows for light to pass through the figures and for what I hope embodies the spiritual and physical essence of human nature into each sculpture. By marrying fire and materials of earth with the modern process of casting glass, there is a fusion of composition and chance.
Gale Scott
72” x 24” x 24” Elasticity, geometry, and density are all factors in a material’s resonance. Every form has states of resonant coherence or relaxation. The intent of my sculpture is to make these momentary phenomena tangible and that the viewer experiences push, pull, oscillation, progression, and pause.
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Josh Simpson Megaplanet Glass 8”
Randi Solin Copper Magnolia Bud Hot sculpted glass 24” x 30” x 10”
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Debbie Tarsitano Night Vision Dahlia Cast glass dahlia on oil painted canvas covered wood board 48” x 36” I enjoy photographing my garden at night using my camera’s night vision setting. It is fascinating to combine technology and art, changing the way we see the world and each other. Technology allows me to see things we are all missing in the dark. I translate my photographic images into cast glass combined with oil painting.
Natalie Tyler Eagle’s Nest Cast crystal 18” x 33” x 33” The homes that animals and insects create have been of particular interest to me. By studying the intricate structures of the honeycomb, spider webs and bird nests, I have found these animal dwellings to be a harmonious mix of beauty, efficiency, and instinctive skill. My most recent sculpture is Eagle’s Nest is a collection of crystal antlers intertwined to make a large nest. Once threatened and endangered, the bald eagle is now flourishing, giving hope for other animals who are threatened.
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Jennifer Violette Hilltop Barns Blown glass & bronze 7.5” h x 11” diameter Jen Violette’s uniques landscape sculptures are inspired by the rural Vermont countryside that surrounds her home and studio. In this series, she enjoys capturing the spirit of the rolling hills and historic farm dwellings that dot the local landscape.
Adam Waimon Triumph Blown and engraved glass 13” x 26” x 6.5” Adam Waimon is a sculptural glass artist. Inspiration for his work is drawn from a multitude of sources with a primary focus in the natural world. While remaining diverse in his inspiration, the resulting work is cohesive and defined.
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James Watkins Totem/Passage Pâte de verre cast glass 74” x 16” x 10” Growing up in coastal Louisiana, I spent a great deal of my childhood exploring the outdoors. As an avid spectator of the natural world, my observations were often made from a watery place or atop a tree. The avian world fascinated me and throughout my life, forms from flora and fauna have been my constant inspiration. I also find beauty in everyday objects, both in their utility and form. I am particularly enamored with vessels used to contain or convey liquids. These are my stimuli. The curvaceous volume found in a seedpod, a bird’s wing or a boats hull, have all become part of my artistic vocabulary.
Steven Weinburg Nayatt Point Cast Glass 6.75” x 14.25” x 4” My art has always been about a way to gain control over my environment. Through the process of making objects I am able to 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.
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Mark & Michiko Weiner Blue Platter Glass 20” Michiko and Mark Weiner both share an interest in the optics in the relationship of patterns and form. Using reductive processes such as sandblasting or wheel carving, shapes and shadows are created using the interior and exterior lines of the form and its transparency. Placement and the use of natural light give a kinesthetic component and unique character to individual pieces. As the light changes its aspect, the shadows move, changing the shapes and the relationship of the lines that are created by the passage of light through the form.
Toots Zynsky Avvolsi Glass 17.5” x 10” x 7”
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Special Guests Dan Dailey Eye to Eye Blown glass, sandblasted and acid polished. 15.5” x 11.5” x 11.5” It’s mostly luck when another person responds to an artist’s ideas. The process of taking a thought to reality, to articulate a vision, is the basis of the artist’s motivation. You have a notion, it becomes a vision, and you try to articulate that vision through the creation of a dimensional object. Whether you make a drawing, a wall relief, a blown glass form, or have another way of expression, the feeling or idea is what comes first and lasts longest. Ultimately you’re lucky if your idea touches someone.
Owen Dailey Tetrahedron Construction #3 Fused lead crystal frit and patinated bronze 26” x 22” x 22” The relationship of forms in space, can create an active dynamic that brings character to a composition. Tetrahedron Construction’s pieces are positioned in a manner that allows the edges and points to push and pull against each other as they rise upward, their linear features competing for space the way a plant seeks light. As the forms diminish to their sharp edges, the gradient of color shifts, revealing the diluted constituents of the polished glass tetrahedrons. This arrangement of bold colors and cutting lines, arranged carefully by the contrasting bronze armature, adds a distinct, fiery feeling to the space it occupies.
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Additional Work
Emmett Barnacle Doors of Perception
Bernie D’Onofrio Contour
Susan Shapiro & Andy Magdanz An Ensemble in the Region of Ice
Eric Cruze & Tomo Sakai Monolith
Bernie D’Onofrio Concise
Martin Rosol Arbelos
Sidney Hutter Polished Plate Glass Vase #32
Josh Simpson Megaplanet
Martin & Erik Demaine Flower Power
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Additional Work
Gale Scott
James Watkins Funerary Vessel for the Industrial Age
Gale Scott
Steven Weinburg Blue and Silver Boat
Jennifer Violette Forest Dwelling
Toots Zynsky Volante
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Contact Us
Index
Worcester Center for Crafts 25 Sagamore Road Worcester, MA 01605 508.753.8183 wccregistration@worcester.edu worcestercraftcenter.org
Melissa Ayotte ....................................4 Emmett Barnacle ...........................4, 20 Josh Bernbaum .................................5 William Carlson .................................5 Dan Clayman ...................................6 Shaun Conroy ...................................6 Eric Cruze + Tomo Sakai ................7, 20 Dan Dailey .................................19 Owen Dailey .................................19 Robert Dane ......................................7 Martin + Erik Demaine ...................8, 20 Bernie D’Onofrio ............................8, 20 Robin Grebe ....................................9 Peter Houk ........................................9 Sidney Hutter .............................10, 20 Claire Kelly ........................................10 Aron Leaman ..................................11 K. William LeQuier ...........................11 Susan Shapiro + Andy Magdanz...12, 20 Martin Rosol ..................................12, 20 Thomas Scoon .................................13 Gale Scott ......................................13, 21 Josh Simpson ..........................14,20, 21 Randi Solin ........................................14 Debbie Tarsitano ............................15 Natalie Tyler ....................................15 Jennifer Violette ..........................16, 21 Adam Waimon ...............................16 James Watkins ............................17, 21 Steven Weinberg .........................17, 21 Mark + Michiko Weiner ..................18 Toots Zynsky .................................18, 21
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Our Mission: The Craft Center’s mission is “to inspire and build a creative community” by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
About Us: The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England’s leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.
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