A new exhibition at the UK“s National Glass Centre in Sunderland (north-east England) showcases the work of a “rising generation of glass artists” in the region, according to exhibition curator Peter…
A new exhibition at the UK“s National Glass Centre in Sunderland (north-east England) showcases the work of a “rising generation of glass artists” in the region, according to exhibition curator Peter Davies, head of glass and ceramics at the University of Sunderland. All the work on show has been made in the National Glass Centre and the university“s facilities, Mr. Davies said. The exhibition, which opened on 4 July 2005, is called “Wheel and Water Grinds an Edge”, a title taken from the epic poem Briggflatts by local poet Basil Bunting. Mr. Davies said Sunderland now had some of the best facilities in the country for glass art. “We have these incredible resources and really good technical back-up so artists can come in and undertake really ambitious projects. We are getting something like 100 students coming through here each year so, if just a few of them stay each year, you are talking about quite a density.” Mr. Davies said one of the main attractions at the Centre was the new water-jet cutting equipment, a GBP 100,000-plus precision tool not usually available to artists. Among the established artists who have designed pieces for the exhibition are Conrad Atkinson, based in Cumbria, and Stefan Gec, from Yorkshire, both using the medium for the first time. Relative newcomers include Dan Savage, currently completing his MA in glass at Sunderland University, and Henry Amos, an architect, who became so interested in glass that he did the University“s MA course part-time and now has his own studio, Glass Arc, in nearby Tynemouth. The exhibition is on at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until 2 October 2005.