A glass hand-grenade, a model of a futuristic apartment-block and glass wind instruments all feature in a new Crafts Council touring exhibition; Breath Taking: Revealing a new wave in British glass blowing. The exhibition launches at Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton, on 22 January 2011 and runs until 19 March 2011.
Breath Taking presents blown glass work by 21 UK makers, including 16 new commissions and five exemplary pieces from the Crafts Council Collection. The selected makers all illustrate a contemporary and lyrical approach to this age-old process through the presentation of exciting new works, many of which are conceptual and non-functional forms that breathe new life into a traditional practice.
The 16 new commissioned pieces include;
Joanna Manousis’ ‘Reaching an Ulterior Realm’ that presents us with what looks like three helium mounted targets fired at by arrows (with varying degrees of success). The targets are not as fluid and the arrows not as light as we imagine however, as it becomes apparent they are made of solidified blown glass.
Kate Williams’ ‘In the same breath’ and ‘Airbourne’, are two meticulous replicas of wind instruments. The pieces are flame-worked – a blown glass technique that uses a small table-top open flame to work the glass rather than a furnace. Flame-working allows for a high level of precision and accuracy, meaning that these two pieces can be played to create music.
Layne Rowe’s ‘Picking Daises 2’ takes an obvious symbol of war and politics – the hand-grenade – and turns it into a beautifully crafted fragile object. Its identity is further subverted by the addition of glass daisies making it an object of peace.
El Ultimo Grito’s ‘Apartments’ is an imaginary architectural form created from repurposed scientific glass products. On first viewing, the pieces seem to be lifted from the laboratory but on closer inspection their function has been re-appropriated; they are models of futuristic glass apartments.
Alongside the glass work is a newly commissioned film by Federico Urdaneta that explores the work and practice of SheldonCooney. At their studio in a converted chapel in Staffordshire, Elaine Sheldon and Dominic Cooney produce blown glass in the most sustainable way possible; harnessing energy using their two wind turbines, sourcing packaging locally, and living on-site.
The exhibition is designed by design collective Glass Hill and acclaimed graphic designer Sara De Bondt has created an inventive glass-inspired graphic scheme.
