Katie Brown Dominic Burrell Karen Ellett Greg Hall Lyndsay Patterson Carmen Simmonds Larinae Steward Cath Watson

GLIDING LIGHT Wanganui Contemporary Glass 6-27 March 2009 Exhibition Preview 6 March 5pm

For price enquiries please contact Lydia Baxendell: lydia@gallery33.co.nz

Wanganui is seen as the centre for innovative, quality glass art in New Zealand. Gliding Light showcases the technical skill, as well as the distinctive and innovative achievements of a group of glass artists of significance within the region. From the dainty cast frocks of Carmen Simmonds, the slumped and engraved suitcase forms of Larinae Steward, to the precision and expertise of Lyndsay Patterson’s murrine vessels and the feather light liquidity of Katie Brown’s hand blown whispers, Gliding Light seeks to bring to the forefront a broad spectrum of approach and originality within the medium. A celebration of the luminous splendour of glass, it is essentially about letting the light glide in.

Katie Brown

Katie Brown is one of only a small handful of full-time female glassblowing artists in New Zealand. Inspired by the natural world, her use of hot glass enables the artist to produce organic, molten forms. Through her use of colour and cold techniques her pieces display a delicate sense of structure.

Katie Brown graduated with a Diploma in Glass Design and Production in 1999 at Wanganui UCOL, and now works at Chronicle Glass Studio.

Cherry Flattened Vases handblown glass, height: 245-270mm	Black Whispers handblown glass, height: 550-630mm	Black Flattened Vases handblown glass, height: 245-310mm

Dominic Burrell

Dominic Burrell has developed a recognisable language with his layered pod forms. Burrell's work holds the same appeal as a geologic cross-section of crystalline rock, the pod revealing an intense rainbow stratum belying the rough stone like exterior. They are created using blown glass but the majority of work involved in creating the pieces - cutting, sandblasting and polishing - takes place after the glass has cooled. 'What draws me to design and production of glass forms are the formal qualities in composition. I am drawn to the aesthetic placement of point, line and plane and the use of colour within this.'

Dominic Burrell graduated from Wanganui UCOL in 2003 and has since exhibited nationally and internationally throughout Asia, Australia and North America.

Pod Envelope hand blown, cut and sandblasted glass, 150x140x180mm	Pod Envelope, DETAIL

Karen Ellett

An enigmatic Morse code of small indentations encrusts the delicate skin of Karen Ellett's vessels. She carves the surface of her hot blown glass forms, making intimate tactile works that transcend their glass medium. 'I have always had a compelling urge to hand engrave on and within the surfaces of my blown vessels. This has allowed me to unfold a sense of optical mystery within my work. I prefer to use simple form and uncomplicated colour to not only unfold these qualities with a minimum of complexities but to also create a beautiful object.'

Karen Ellett majored in hot glass in the Glass Diploma program at Wanganui UCOL at New Zealand's only Glass School and graduated in 2001. Ellett is recognised as an established glassmaker and designer within New Zealand. In early 2004 Ellett and two other glass artists built Chronicle Glass Studio She is now situated at a studio in Gonville and teaches the Bachelor of Fine arts year one glass.

Kina Bowl - White & Tea hand blown, cut and sandblasted glass, 50x200x200mm	Kina Bowl - White & Steel Blue hand blown, cut and sandblasted glass, 50x180x180mm

Greg Hall

Greg Hall's cast glass waka series speak of journeys and heritage within the South Pacific. Light spills through the works allowing a sense of depth while bringing our attention to the intricately engraved hull. 'In my work I aim for a strong sense of expression and dialogue, but also for continuing technical excellence.'

With a 30 year history in the medium of glass; Hall has developed a distinctive style, which is a statement of ‘who I am’ and ‘where I come from’. Hall has been a tutor in glass for over twenty years as well as continuing his practice as an artist. He is currently underway with a commissioned project to design and make 32 Stained Glass panels for the Wanganui District Council Chambers.

Waka cast glass

Lyndsay Patterson

Renowned for his mastery of glass blowing and cold working techniques, Lyndsay Patterson displays his commanding skill of the ancient murrine method. The glass is formed by sections of various multicoloured glass rods, which are then melted together to form an intricate patterned surface.

Lyndsay Patterson graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Wanganui Polytechnic. Patterson is a well-known maker of contemporary glass and is represented by galleries in each of the main centres in New Zealand. He is also represented in Australia and Hong Kong. His work is held in public and private collections including Te Papa Tongarewa and The Dowse and has twice been a finalist in the prestigious Ranamok Glass prize, an Australian based glass competition. He is co-owner of Chronicle Glass Studio in Wanganui.

Grey Murrine Vessel hand blown glass, 130x170x170mm	Aqua Murrine Vessel hand blown glass, 105x145x145mm	Emerald Murrine Vessel hand blown glass, 95x140x140mm

Carmen Simmonds

Carmen Simmonds glass dresses are tactile, yet delicate objects, lace patterns and rustling folds of cloth in graduated colours are seemingly frozen in time. Her work looks at women’s ‘dress’, with a focus on fabric and design history. Deliberately feminine yet strong and elegant, Simmonds reflects on the history of the dress as well as the ever changing role of female adornment imagery in Western society.

Simmonds graduated from Wanganui UCOL in 2002 on completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts where she majored in Glass. Since then she has worked from her Wanganui based studio creating cast glass sculptures that are exhibited throughout New Zealand, America and Australia.

Lime Lagoon Doily Dress cast glass, 205x160x160mm	Lilac and Yellow Doily Dress cast glass, 220x180x180mm

Larinae Steward

South African born artist Larinae Steward explores the challenges and changes that migrant artists’ face. Her no longer functional glass suitcases carry a strong visual and emotional memory of her birth place and are a metaphor for her travels through life. 'Travel can be seen as an escape from the present.' Constructed from slumped glass and leather, the artist sandblasts and engraves text and imagery onto the surface to create a visual narrative.

Larinae Steward was born in South Africa and emigrated with her family to New Zealand in 1993. In 2000 she graduated from the Wanganui Polytechnic with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Glass. Larinae exhibits on a regular basis nationally and internationally. Her work was selected for the prestigious Ranamok Glass Prize in Australia in 2001 and 2003, winning the 'People’s Choice Award' in 2001.

Frida slumped, sandblasted and constructed glass, 300x270x150mm	Where are we going… slumped, sandblasted and constructed glass, 140x360x240mm

Cath Watson

Cath Watson has a minimalist approach to form and colour. Her subtle yet intense sculptural works draw upon tone, line and movement, drawing on her interest in weather. 'The daily patterns and changing forms that the weather creates; what we see and feel about us, and how this relates to the picture on the television screen or the lines on the page in the newspaper.'

Watson predominantly uses kiln formed processes and is increasingly drawn toward the unusual medium of recycled television screen glass 'both for its inherent beauty, and for the satisfaction of taking a discarded resource and turning waste into art'.

In 2007, Cath completed the Certificate in Glass Design and Production at UCOL, Whanganui, and in her final year of glass study, she won the Swarbrick Dixon Prize for Excellence in Glass Sculpture with a kinetic mixed media work. Watson currently shares a glass studio with husband and fellow glass artist Campbell Wylie in Wanganui.

Occluded Front (installation of four pieces) kiln cast recycled television screen glass sandblasted, height: 55-140mm

Catalogue essay by Lydia Baxendell 2009