WHERE: New Mexico Museum of Art.
WHEN: On view through January 6, 2013.
TITLE: Dual exhibitions: Chromatic Fusion: The Art of Fused Glass, featuring Klaus Moje and Emerge 2012: A Showcase of Rising Talents in Kiln-glass
BRIEF ABOUT: “Museums and galleries around the country are marking the golden anniversary of American studio glass through exhibitions and programs that celebrate the vitality of this popular medium. The New Mexico Museum of Art has chosen to focus its programming on a different aspect of contemporary glass than the glassblowing studio practices of the early decades. These two companion exhibitions examine the process of kilnforming, which is a practice that is witnessing great strides in terms of innovative use of materials today,” notes Curator of Contemporary Art Laura Addison. “Like the history of glass art itself, these two concurrent exhibitions go beyond the borders of the United States to emphasize the international impact of glass. To celebrate contemporary glass in this country, one has to appreciate the mutual influence that occurs among artists inside and outside of this country.”
Chromatic Fusion: The Art of Fused Glass, featuring Klaus Moje explores the various technical, thematic, and visual approaches to kilnformed glass by artists working around the globe. The centerpiece of the exhibition is Klaus Moje’s large-scale, multi-panel work, The Portland Panels: Choreographed Geometry, 2007 consist of a suite of four fused and diamond polished glass panels, each 47-1/4 x 74-1/2 inches and over 22,000 pieces of glass fused together.
Other artists in the exhibition likewise demonstrate their mastery of glass through myriad techniques such as murrini, pate de verre, slumping, engraving, and fusible film. These artists include Kate Baker, Giles Bettison, Cobi Cockburn, Mel George, Deborah Horrell, Steve Klein, Jessica Loughlin, Richard Marquis, Catharine Newell, April Surgent, Joanne Teasdale, Carmen Vetter, Yoko Yagi, and Toots Zynsky.
In partnership with Bullseye Glass of Portland, Oregon (www.bullseyeglass.com) the seventh biennial international juried show of early-career artists working in kilnformed glass, Emerge 2012: A Showcase of Rising Talents in Kiln-glass, consist of thematicall and functionally diverse works that share a mastery of materials.
French artist Émilie Haman’s “Once Upon a Time” which won the Gold Award in the competition, is an exquisitely executed kilncast-glass pig’s hoof with satin laces that is inspired by the often grotesque narrative twists in fairy tales.
United States Japanese-born artist Sayaki Suzuki’s hyperrealistic kilncast-glass feast of “Harvest Day”won the Kilncaste Award, tricks the eye into believing the skins of the onion and the kernels of corn are real, and make you anticipate the crunch of a baguette.
The water lily-shaped shallow bowls by Spaniards Ester Luesma and Xavier Vega were awarded the Design Award for their creative approach to glass functional are for restaurants that parallels the innovative approach of master chefs to their own “medium.”
The artists selected were: Miri Admoni (Israel) and from United States, Karen Bexfield, Cortney Boyd, Victoria Calabro, Elizabeth Fortunato, Karen Mahardy and Amy Westover.
MORE DETAILS: www.nmartmuseum.org.