Voices Of Contemporary Glass

Contemporary Glass profiles over sixty contemporary glassmakers working today, examining the ever increasing ways that the technical and conceptual boundaries of glass design are being challenged and merged with art and fashion. Featuring and inspiring collection of work by international artists, both emerging and established, including Angus M Powers, Beth Lipman, Fred Wilson, Ingrid Nord, Minako Shirakura and Tobias Rehberger and many more. Contemporary Glass presents essays that focus on the history of glass, from as early as 3000 BC, when it was traditionally used as a pottery glaze, through to contemporary glassmaking techniques. Further essays introduce the new approaches that contemporary makers are adopting and examines the direction in which this medium is presently moving, whilst addressing some of the recurring concepts and themes prevalent in contemporary glass design. Contemporary Glass presents and authoritative overview of an arts and craft scene that is both departing from, and building on its origins, while forming new directions within which practitioners work and wherein their work is appreciated. 300 colour & b/w illustrations

The book is the first to provide a comprehensive worldwide suvery of the contemporary glass scene. The author reviews the history of glass since the early 1960's and considers the technical developments, influences, and changing attitudes that have contributed to the present flourishing state of the art. He looks at the rapid growth of glass education and the subsequent increase in interest in contemporary glass among museums, galleries and collectors, and then assesses the work of hundreds of contemporary glass artists from around the world. He describes their working methods and techniques, sources of inspiration, and their approach to their art.

Presents an illustrated overview of contemporary studio-glass. Full-color reproductions of works by noted American artists and distinguished European artists are accompanied by detailed discussions of each artist's career and glassforming techniques.

For five thousand years, artisans have worked in glass to create forms that serve and delight. But only recently have artists turned their hands and minds to this traditionally utilitarian and decorative material. Clearly Inspired: Contemporary Glass and Its Origins contrasts the work of contemporary glass artists with examples of earlier glass that have inspired them to rediscover or reinvent forgotten techniques. Transforming an ancient craft into a contemporary art, they honor the past while making visual statements that are very much of our time.

South Florida is home to some of the world's premier private collections of studio glass, collections whose abundance, diversity, and quality are celebrated in Fire and Form. This volume features more than 100 works by 31 of the best-known American and European glass artists of our time, including Jaroslava Brychtova, Dale Chihuly, Dan Dailey, Stanislav Libensky, William Morris, Tom Patti, Lino Tagliapietra, and many others. William Warmus identifies four prominent themes in the relatively recent development of studio glass (since 1960) that provide a framework for exploring the rich variety of works presented in this book. The first theme is what Warmus has called the particular affinity between nature and the making of glass: Where nature creates a heart, the glass artist creates a heart-felt vessel. The second is the ability of glass, equally to that of painting and sculpture, to convey the power of abstraction and color. A third theme is the prevalent use of glass - sometimes called the new bronze - to depict the human figure and animal forms. The final section deals with the theatrical nature of installations and environmental sculptures, demonstrating the surprising capability of glass to impose itself physically and emotionally on the space we inhabit, altering our very perception of it. ancient Egypt, and places contemporary glass within the context of contemporary art and theory at large. In addition, the book includes selected artists' bibliographies and a chronological bibliography of contemporary glass that lists key historical events, general trends and developments, and important publications. Fire and Form offers a unique perspective on this vital and intoxicating medium, and its publication is a welcome event for all lovers of glass - those who make it, those who collect it, and those who admire it.

Freelance writer Miller introduces 30 contemporary artists in a volume that suggests the versatility of glass and engenders curiosity about glassworkers' techniques. She describes the glass artists' community in the Pacific Northwest and records brief statements by the artists; freelance photographer Lyons's color portraits of the individuals and their work illustrate the text. Sonja Blomdahl, who makes symmetrical vessels, Dante Marioni, whose goblets are featured, and Benjamin Moore, who creates lamps, have mastered the art of glass-blowing. Others take the medium in other directions: several employ cast glass in multimedia sculpture, some explore political and personal issues by painting on glass surfaces. Ruth Brockman decorates her intricate, spiritually oriented creations with brightly colored enamels; Richard LaLonde crushes and fuses glass to make vibrant mosaics. This dazzling sampler bears witness to glass's creative applications beyond both the functional and the decorative.