2015 gas international student online exhibition juried selection catalogue
DESCRIPTION
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ONLINE EXHIBITION
2015 JURIED SELECTION
Education CommitteeTracy Kirchmann
Emily KuchenbeckerMarc Petrovic
Charlotte PotterStephen Rolfe Powell
Jon ReesNatali Rodrigues
Cassandra StraubingMasahiro Nick Sasaki
Amanda Wilcox
DesignersOnline Exhibition - Shelbey Lang
Juried Selection Catalogue - Kristin Galioto
Published December 2015
2015 JURIED SELECTION CATALOGUECHOSEN FROM THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ONLINE EXHIBITION
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION & CATALOGUE
The 2015 International Student Online Exhibition is an all-inclusive exhibition, published on the GAS website. It is a non-juried exhibition open to all current full-time GAS student members. The exhibition catalogue features a juried selection, including 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, honorable mentions and additional selected works. Awards for top entries are provided by the Glass Art Society. All pieces are original, professionally crafted, contain glass as the main element and were designed/created between 2014-2015.
FEATURED ARTISTS
First Place Jamie Katz
Second Place Jared Last
Third PlaceHannah Gason
Honorable Mentions Rose-Mary Faulkner, Joshua Hershman, Hiroki Uemura
Selected Works Seth Blackwell, Allyssa Burch, Hye Sook Choi, Nate Dubbs, Jubee Lee, Emily McBride, Louise Murphy, Lisa Naas, Laura Aalto-Setälä, Madisyn Zabel
JURORS
Jay MacdonellBen WrightEmily Zilber
FIRST PLACE
We live in a spatially defined world. There is space everywhere, and we are constantly moving from one space to another, yet we never stop to consider its gravity. What is space and what makes it significant? This question is what my work seeks to investigate. How can we take a closer look into space, and how do we define it? How can I make work that makes the viewer reconsider the significance of the space around them? My work is the physical embodiment of this exploration.
JAMIE KATZRochester Institute of TechnologyRochester, New York, USA
Perceiver of Perception 2014Flameworked glass, projector, laptop, smart phone
15" x 15" x 62"
A smart phone is held by the Pyrex tripod, its view fixed on looking through a glass lens. This view is streamed
over wifi to the laptop, connected to a projector and what the piece is seeing is projected onto the wall.
SECOND PLACE
My work explores architectural form, optical art, and color theory, utilizing the material properties of glass as a means to create interactive objects and installation. Primarily a glassblower, Moire represents a significant departure from my usual work and a means to experiment with the relatively new powder printing technique. As one views Moire the illusory phenomenon from which it draws its name becomes apparent, animating each patterned object while simultaneously creating a complex three-dimensional figure ground relationship between each object and its corresponding shadow, where they appear to shift in and out of perspective constantly.
JARED LASTAlberta College of Art + DesignAlberta, Calgary, CANADA
Moire2015
Printed, fused glass powder153 cm x 78 cm x 11.6 cm
THIRD PLACE
I am interested in physical and suggested ideas of mapping space. I explore abstract structures and aim to create systems of relationships and representations for an emotive world. My process uses kiln formed glass components assembled into images that play with shifting colour and textured light. I draw from the Australian landscape for a sense of colour and the order and structure of suggested forms in architecture. Colour and pattern are key elements for my practice and I aim to create works that intrigue the viewer and offer another perspective to an imagined place.
HANNAH GASONAustralian National UniversityCanberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA
Folded 12015
Kiln formed glass50" x 42" x 5"
Portrait by Greg Piper
HONORABLE MENTIONS
My work engages with the subtlety and fragility of glass combined with drawing to map and record the form of the body, the movement of nature, and the shapes and lines that connect these. The blown rock forms, which stack and balance together, resting on paper shadows of their reflection, examine the way we can visually divide the body and the landscape into circular sections. Pushing the material qualities of glass, I seek to create a sense of tension through alluring delicacy and brittle balance.
In Balance2015
Blown glass, watercolour, ink, and paper 24 cm x 45 cm x 24 cm (glass) , 57 cm x 24 cm (paper )
Photo by Adam McGrath
HONORABLE MENTION
ROSE-MARY FAULKNERAustralian National UniversityCanberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA
HONORABLE MENTION
JOSHUA HERSHMANAlfred UniversityAlfred, New York, USA
Obscura2015
Cast and blown glassVariable size (lens 20" diameter)
Photo by the artist
Since early childhood, I experienced the world without peripheral vision or depth perception. Through the intense process of having my vision corrected, I came to appreciate the curious nature of visual anomalies and was forced to recognize the ultimate governing power that our eyes have over all our other senses. Through the journey from first experiencing the world as a flat plane, to eventually learning how to see in three dimensions, I was transformed by going from near blindness to clear vision. This crossing from one boundary to another, from being locked inside to being freed from within, continues to influence my artwork, and the way I personally see the world today.
Through glass work, I try to visualize something around us which we can not see, but can feel - thus, sign of life, time flow and our imagination. Glass is a filter to enhance our sensitivity.
Seeing Life-Circulation2015
Hot glass drawing and shattered glass265 cm × 250 cm × 350 cm
Photo by the artist
HONORABLE MENTION
HIROKI UEMURANagoya University of ArtsKitanagoya, Aichi, JAPAN
SELECTED WORKS
ALLYSSA BURCHBall State UniversityMuncie, Indiana, USA
Beneath The Weight, 2015Cast glass, wood, steel, paper18” x 10” x 12”
The way an object is worn can tell you about where it came from and the person who used it. Unlike that of objects, a human’s story of endurance isn’t always easily seen. I admire perseverance and I am interested in the traumas humans choose to keep secret from the world. Through objects that have already lived, I explore experiences of my own I have previously kept hidden, as well as the methods employed to cope with them.
SETH BLACKWELLWest Texas A&M UniversityCanyon, Texas, USA
Ritual Cut, 2014Stone and diamond lathe cut16" x 5"
This work demonstrates self reflection, mechanisms of control, and ritual. The objective of this work is to encompass the knowledge of who you are as a person and how that influence affects our individuality and identity in the universe. These factors are displayed through the historic reference of Roman cut glass, and the ideals of how Taoism reflected on the medium itself. The meditative state paired with the methodical series of movements to cut the glass reflects Taoist and Confucius ideals.
SELECTED WORKS
HYE SOOK CHOIRochester Institute of TechnologyRochester, New York, USA
A relic of the early 21st century, 2015 Glass, 13" x 7.5" x 15"
I investigate a construction of standard for beauty and how it affects people in modern society. Most people get obsessed with appearance since beauty has a major impact in life through first impression and social status. It is important to maintain a balance between inner and outer beauty. However, people, particularly young women care too much about how they look. They spend too much time and money on their appearance and put on a fancy purse and wear high heels to be seen as beautiful externally. I have been thinking critically about those types of women and luxury items. My work is based on objects of status for women such as purses, high heels, and other objects associated with female desires which I use as a tool to express my thoughts about obsession with appearance in a satirical way. Also I intend to make people reflect upon how they define themselves.
NATE DUBBSCalifornia State University San Bernardino San Bernardino, California, USA
Life Spiral, 2014Photogram on glass, of glass20" x 30" x 1"
I am trying to reveal the subtle properties of glass that usually go unnoticed. Light is the key to unlocking these intricate patterns and depths almost hidden to the naked eye. Unusual, sometimes surprising shapes emerge from the flattening out of a three dimensional object, layers become apparent and new forms materialize. As we explore our ever expanding universe and gain insight into particle physics, we become conscious that our mind, the art we make, and ideas we have are just as vast.
EMILY MCBRIDEVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, Virginia, USA
Swimming in Honey, 2015 Installation and video detailProjected video (with glass object)Dimensions variable
Swimming in Honey offers a window into psychological states where fixations, indifference, denial, bodily discomfort, desire, and disgust coexist. Covered in Vaseline and fingerprints, the residing glass object represents not just the weighted burden of material possessions but also the burden of the dysphoric body. The repetitious fidgeting is unending. The title suggests both action and affectation; a disarming sensation caused by a shift from indulgent to oppressive.
JUBEE LEEVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, Virginia, USA
Pas-resent, 2015Kilnformed glass, wood, paints, graphite 28' x 10'
This work represents my independent imaginary world and indicates the line between reality and illusion. I express the confluence between my past and present with in the concept of home. My obsession with illusion began when I was young and attempting to represent three-dimensional spaces and rooms two-dimensionally using only a few simple pencil lines in my sketchbook. Now I create my own anamorphic spatial illusions by placing the two-dimensional representation of the room onto glass. All images are only in perspective at one focal point. This creates a three-dimensional image of the room while maintaining the qualities of the original two- dimensional illusion of space.
WATCH THE VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/127413171
WATCH THE VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/145575550
LOUISE MURPHYNational College of Art and DesignDublin, IRELAND
Crystalscape, 2015Hand carved, ground, and polished crystal78 cm x 8 cm x 12 cm
I am interested in the idea of happiness being affected by landscape. Feng Shui practitioners claim that the earth’s energy or spirit reaches its highest point in mountains. This enhanced energy can have a profound affect on our emotional and physical well being. This piece intends to capture the sensation experienced from the beautiful world we live in. The reflective quality of the optic crystal multiplies the mountain-scape carved through the crystal creating an infinite range of pure crystal mountains.
LISA NAASEdinburgh College of ArtEdinburgh, UNITED KINGDOM
SORROWS, 2015Film Still: Macro image of kiln-formed glass installation
Aiming to entice the viewer with macro images of glass and a haunting soundscape created entirely from my voice, SORROWS exposes an internal world of personal thought that insists upon an external expression. Taken as a whole, the film exists on two planes: as a platform to explore the intangible idea of sorrows in glass, sound, light, and movement and as a documentary of a singular artistic process and project from my perspective. SORROWS examines the passage from creative concept in my mind to work realization, where viewers are given glimpses of my final, realized glass and sound collaborative installation.
LAURA AALTO-SETÄLÄAalto UniversityAalto University, Helsinki, FINLAND
Still together, 2015Freely blown soda glass, magnets, wire, small iron partsDiameter of each sphere:11 cm
In Still together, there are two spheres, and there is a strong magnetic attraction between the spheres, which keeps them together. The spheres are almost touching, but still separate. The magnetization is slowly fading, 1% per decade, which means that eventually gravity will overcome the magnetic pull, and the lower sphere will fall and crash. I was interested in how the notion of temporariness changes how the viewer sees the work: it personifies the spheres, it makes them seem mortal, even if it is only illusory.
MADISYN ZABELAustralian National UniversityCanberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA
Wireframe, 2015Cast glass, fishing wire, nailsDimensions variablePhoto by Daniel Spellman
My work explores ideas of visual perception and illusion, by examining the relationship between two-dimensional imagery and three-dimensional objects. Wireframe examines the material properties of cast glass; its optical qualities, size, density and its translucency to create forms that appear to shift between volume and flatness. Accompanying the cast glass pieces are multistable wireframe illusions from the string, which both explore and rely on perception. The two combined create a dynamic relationship that explores positive and negative spaces, shifting perception of volume and flatness, and the relationship between images and object.
JUROR COMMENTS
Jay Macdonell
Ben Wright
Emily Zilber
The primary commonality amongst the submissions for the GAS International Student Online Exhibition is their sheer diversity. Across all levels, applicants are approaching glass from a wide range of vantage points. Those focused on using techniques with longstanding traditions in glass appear side by side with those who seek to investigate how the medium might intersect with processes and materials ranging from printmaking, to drawing, film, performance, installation, and ceramics. Even in this interdisciplinary pool, the strongest works remain those which demonstrate a strong and skillful handling of glass and which demonstrate a clear understanding of how its inherent properties, no matter how they are employed, help an artist to say something distinct from what he or she can express in any other medium. In evaluating the submissions, the jurors hoped to find artists who balanced skill, ingenuity, intelligence, and a commitment to using the intrinsic capabilities of glass to enliven his or her voice. I am pleased to say that there were plenty of works which fit that call!
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this important publication. As an artist and educator with a long-term affair with glass, I always find the opportunity to experience an extensive cross section of fresh student work to be simultaneously refreshing and underwhelming. One must remind oneself that many students must tread the well-worn aesthetic and conceptual clichés and ubiquitous visual ruts while tackling the technical challenges of this media. Yet, if challenged, they will all arrive eventually at their truly innovative voice. Certainly this pool reflected the entire spectrum of that development, but throughout the work a sense of enthusiastic experimentation and material curiosity pervades. It is this spirit, rather than the physical work at hand, that gives me great hope for the future of glass programs that are increasingly being led by a new generation of young, innovative voices in our field. To those selected, congratulations. Your diversity of approach and intent and commitment to your voice are to be applauded and are great signs of things to come. To those unselected, congratulations as well! It was an honor to view your works. Keep working and keep asking the tough questions of yourself, each other, and the material.
Thank you to the Glass Art Society for allowing me to take part in an extraordinary overview of what the future holds. It is wonderful to see the breadth of the artistic exploration and the expansion of a conversation that GAS is there to witness and catalogue. The work that stands combines ingenuity and originality, often in unexpected ways. The materiality of process shouldn't interfere with the reason it is used and the easy road is rarely rewarded. I tip my hat to all that took the time to submit, it is never easy to send one's work out into the ether to be judged, it takes courage and I encourage you to keep moving forward to find your voice and how this material fits into it. One of the greatest parts and privileges of being a part of GAS and this community has always been the knowledge that we stand on the shoulders of giants and work together to foster and support the future of this material. It has been a pleasure.
Jay Macdonell has worked for many studios and artists as a gaffer, design consultant and project manager and currently works for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, a contemporary art museum. He has taught at schools such as the Royal Copenhagen School of Art and Architecture, Espace VERRE and Pilchuck. He has worked with artists like Xu Bing, Jiří Harcuba, Benand Sebastion, Bruce Mau and Mildred Howard. Jay is a former GAS Board member and is a founding board member of Berlin Ev, Berlin's first non-profit public access studio. He has been an artist in residence at the Museum of Glass, Pittsburgh Glass Center and the Berengo Studio on Murano to name a few. He is the recipient of a Mid-Career Artist Grant from The Canada Council for the Arts. His work is split between three rhisomic fields; blown, assembled and video/photographic installation. His work is in many public and private collections such as Elton John, the Bronfman family's Claireage collection, The Museum of Glass, Boston Museum of Fine Art and the Montreal Museum's of Fine Art.
JURORJay MacdonellArtist/Visitor Services and Volunteer Coordinator, Art Gallery of Greater VictoriaVictoria, British Columbia, CANADA
Portrait by Russel Johnson
Ben Wright holds a BS in evolutionary biology from Dartmouth College, a BFA in glass from the Appalachian Center for Crafts, and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. His background in biology figures strongly in his artwork, which delves deeply into the ever-evolving relationship between humans and their environment. Through work ranging from interactive visual installations to sonic landscapes he engages all of his viewer’s senses and often bridges the gap between art and science. He has taught his unique approach to art making at numerous schools including Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Craft and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and abroad in Germany, Turkey, Denmark and Japan and is currently the Director of Education at UrbanGlass in Brooklyn, New York.
JURORBen WrightArtist/Director of Education, UrbanGlassBrooklyn, New York, USA
JUROREmily ZilberCurator, Museum of Fine Arts, BostonBoston, Massachusetts, USA
Emily Zilber is the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s first Ronald L. and Anita C. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts. Since 2010, Zilber has been responsible for the MFA’s vibrant program of contemporary decorative arts, including guiding acquisitions and developing a presence for craft and design in the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art and throughout the museum. Zilber oversees the Daphne and Peter Farago Gallery, a dedicated space for modern and contemporary craft, design, and decorative arts. This gallery opened in September 2011 with Crafting Contemporary: Selections from the Daphne Farago Collection. Recent projects include the exhibition New Blue-and-White, which focused on contemporary interpretations of blue-and-white traditions by artists across media and the reinstallation of the Farago Gallery with works from the MFA's permanent collection. Current projects include the exhibitions Nature, Sculpture, Abstraction and Clay: 100 Years of American Ceramics and Crafted: Objects in Flux, which is accompanied by a full-length publication.
