The US-based international Glass Art Society will hold its annual conference in Australia for the first time, with the May 2005 meeting at Adelaide. In the meantime, glass art is being celebrated at C…
The US-based international Glass Art Society will hold its annual conference in Australia for the first time, with the May 2005 meeting at Adelaide. In the meantime, glass art is being celebrated at Canberra with “Cool Glass Hot Art”, which offers artists and the public the chance to hear international speakers and visit exhibitions by major artists. Residencies, public lectures, exhibitions and studio visits with demonstrations have been scheduled until the end of May 2005. The initiative has been described as the Canberra “Olympics of glass”. The head of Glass at the ANU (Australian National University) School of Art, Richard Whiteley, said, “We have been able to secure several prominent international artists and curators, including Tina Oldknow, curator of Modern Glass at the Corning Museum in New York; Jiri Harcuba, essentially the last master glass engraver from the Czech Republic; and Dante Marioni, one of the world“s most talented glass-blowers.” Australian artists Kathy Elliott, Warren Langley, and Kirsty Rea and Scott Chaseling from Canberra will take part. “Geometry Rhythm Light: Glass and the everyday”, the first of the exhibitions being held in several public and commercial galleries in Canberra, opened in early April 2005. The first lecture, entitled “Engraved Glass”, will be given on 27 April 2005 by Jiri Harcuba and Kathy Elliott. Master glass-blowers Dante Marioni and Jaromir Rybak will talk about their work on 28 April 2005. Dan Klein, an independent curator and author from Britain, and Robert Bell, senior curator of International and Australian Decorative Arts and Design at the National Gallery of Australia, will talk on the current directions in glass in Britain and Europe, and Australia, respectively. Tina Oldknow will speak about notions of landscape in glass. Klaus Moje and representatives from Bullseye Glass Company, a manufacturer of glass widely used by Australian glass artists, will talk on kiln-formed glass. Seven exhibitions will open between 27 April and 5 May 2005. Warren Langley will install a fiber-optic light work in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery; “Seeds of Light: 20 years of graduates from the Glass Workshop ANU School of Art” will open on 4 May 2005. In addition, “Ryuhei Nadatani – The Device” at Helen Maxwell Galleries, “Canberra Glass 2005” at Beaver Galleries, and “Glass Jewellery” at Workshop Bilk in Queanbeyan will open during the week. Craft ACT“s “Geometry Rhythm Light: glass and the everyday” will show works by Jonathan Baskett, Mel Douglas, Elizabeth Kelly, Deb Jones and Maureen Williams and, in the stairwell showcases, Crucible at CraftACT will display work by Richard Whiteley. Three studios will be open at the ANCA Mitchell Studios, and glass-blowing demonstrations will be given after lunch on Saturday, 30 April 2005.