2007 Trisha Sertori:
"Sweat, strength and stamina at white heat dominate the birthing process of blown art glass. Like a phoenix from the flames, molten silica sands at 1100 degrees Celsius are gathered, blown, spun, blown again - reborn as fishermen, women, cyclists, discs of colored light and flowers in jeweled hues, translucent and iridescently fragile as the wings of a dragon fly.
This is the magic that drives hot glass artist, Ron Seivertson of Horizon Glassworks studio in Ubud, and given the rigors of this art form, magic and passion's tenacity are essential for anyone wanting to make the grade.
Seivertson's obsession for his work holds the alchemy of love, the ability to overcome all obstacles through the intensity that is love.
It's been a long road to international success for this former builder from the States who first encountered hot glass at a Burning Man festival some years ago.
"I had gone through a mid-life crisis of sorts and had started studying different arts, sculpture and drawing. At the festival I saw this guy blowing glass - that was it - I saw at that moment glass was what I was born to do," said Seivertson of an art form that has been compared to playing a very dangerous symphony written for an orchestra of fire.
From that Burning Man moment, Seivertson has hunted the phoenix of hot glass, studying at the world's leading art glass school, Pilchuck in Washington State's Cascade Mountains and studios in Australia, finally taking the plunge and opening his own studio in Bali two years ago.
His move was a brave one, at that time there was very little hot glass coming out of Asia with just a handful of studios, some creating very fine pieces, but with few serious glass collectors looking to this part of the world.
"I had been working (in glass) in California, but had the house here. I had been coming to Bali for a long time and there was one powerfully intuitive moment that decided me in moving the studio here.
"I was walking past the Pura Dalem in Penestanan and realized that my presence here may not be essential for me, but it could mean a lot for my village - and this is what has come out of it," said Seivertson of his five Balinese apprentices who also work in hot glass and the two painters who are also working in the medium.
"In some ways ~ is like the young artists' movement started by Arie Schmidt that opened the door's for Balinese artists to take different directions in their work - challenges in medium," said Seivertson.
The collaboration between Seivertson and Balinese glass painters has led to an exhibition in Berlin next year; a break into what was once the world's hot glass empire, Europe with it's Venetian glass mastery and centuries old hot glass traditions. .
"The invitation to exhibit came about through the Pilchuck Glass School. The exhibition's curator was looking for hot glass artists working on Islamic themes
and the school mentioned that I was here in Bali. I pointed out that Ball is Hindu within a predominantly Islamic nation, and that the works had no Islamic references, but they were really excited at the concept and the works.
"To be invited into the European exhibition is fantastic; we have sold craft level glass into Europe, but this is the first time the studio's fine art hot glass will be seen there," he said.
Being invited to exhibitions of this level "comes down to the work,"
"I am blown away by our team's ability - we've got a one and a half meter giant tear drop vase in the gallery. The apprentice glass blowers studying in Seattle wouldn't touch a glass gather that feels like 20 kg of hot glass and blow it - they would be too scared, but the guys here in the team don't know to be scared. That vase was blown horizontally - you can imagine what that takes in strength and precision,"
He adds that the "bench time' his apprentices have has made the difference. The guys work at this every day. Apprentices in Seattle schools just don't get that sort of hands on time. In the last two years we've made 4000 pieces of glass - most people would be lucky to have done 1000 in that time,"
Making art is hard work. Seivertson and his team labor in 40 degree Celsius temperatures six days a week, downing gallons of water as they sweat under the strain of art making. This is where hot glass gets mystical. From the sweat
And the fire and the strain, the masculine hardness of it all flies such delicacy, incandescent orbs of color that float I the gallery space; quieted with wonder the viewer stands with the phoenix that is Seivertson's hot glass art that lasts 5000 years.
Visitors are welcome to witness Seivertson and his team's hot glass making in the studio at Jalan Raya Kengetan, Ubud, Bali , Indonesia .
For more information Go to Horizonglassworks.com
Or telephone Horizon Glassworks Studio and Gallery at: 62 0361 780 4014."
Sertori, T. "Berlin Exhibition for Bali Hot Glass Artist." Originally from the Jakarta Post, December 2007. accessed November 5, 2009. http://www.horizonglassworks.com/articles2.html
"
| At a cocktail do, the canvas of Telangana unfolds, while a blown glass exhibition transforms the simple into things of beauty |
Beauty in art A piece from Sisir Sahana’s collection and a painting from Deepanath’s exhibition (right)
“Part figurative, part abstract the glass sculptures are a continuation of my exploration into the medium,” says Sisir who has been working in the medium and technique for the past 17 years.
Hear out the technique and the pursed lips will make way for a smile. “I do the drawing on paper, I transfer that into a mould into which I cast molten glass getting a rough shape. A little structural simplification, polishing and grinding making some parts transparent, others opaque, others translucent and some glass colours do the rest.”
Instead of ordering around furnace workers and menials, Sisir fires his own furnace and talks about his technique and process like a descriptive lover.
“The furnace where silica, borax, soda and other materials are transformed into glass is one thing, the annealing furnace is another. As I work with these thick blocks of glass, it takes upto a week for the works to come out of the annealing furnace. Any mistake in calculation and the labour is ruined,” he says. The temperatures at the furnace hovers around 1400 degree Celsius.
The cast sculptures take some time to grow on you. Stand in front of the works that are titled: Crystal heartland, Unfrozen construction, Born with inextinguishable joy and Butterflies within etc., and the play of light with the translucent and the transparent give a childlike joy.
The sculpted works, don’t suggest the titles. “Oh it is very difficult to condense and communicate a thing of imagination in two words. See this one titled ‘Unfrozen Construction’ the man and woman are bonded eternally, one cannot do without the other, that’s why I gave the title, but for the viewer, it will be a difficult,” he says.
“I could have gone for a clear transparent sculpture but that would have rendered the effort unidimensional,” says Sisir explaining the part opaque, partly chiselled shiny quality of his work.
The exhibition will travel to Chennai after Nov 17."
Nanisetti, S. "Sculpture and art appeal differently." The Hindu. November 17, 2007. acc. November 2, 2009. http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/11/17/stories/2007111752030600.htm
2007 J.T. Kirkland:
" Saturday, while visiting Baltimore for the opening reception of "Yarns from the Material World," I stopped by Touchet Gallery to see Sean Hennessey's first solo show. Sean participated in the Artists Interview Artists Project and his interview can be read here. Sean also has a blog here.
First, I want to congratulate Sean for getting this opportunity. He's been quickly rising and that's commendable. He's a local (to D.C.) artist who is affiliated with the Washington Glass School. Without a doubt, working with the likes of Tim Tate and Michael Janis will help Sean develop artistically. However, he's going to need to be careful just how much influence he allows Tim and Michael to have on him. Read on...
Sean's artist statement:
I create works that are concerned with ways of thinking and the paths that we follow. How do we reflect on our lives? How do we reconcile life as spiritual beings living in a modern world? How do we measure our growth?Drawing my inspiration from Mythologies and Philosophies, I suggest possible metaphors of our daily experiences to create an epic reference for the present. The heroic journey of our common everyday self.
Using glass, concrete, paint and plaster, I build pieces that combine familiar imagery*doors, light bulbs, bottles, spools of thread*to provoke the viewer to consider my interpretations of our lives.
In the show, Sean has hung upwards of 30 pieces (or so it seems) in a gallery that isn't so big to begin with. I think this acts against the work from the start. It made it very difficult for me to see individual pieces and was frankly a bit overwhelming. Sean's work is dominated by concrete/plaster. It's an imposing combination and I think more space needs to be given to the work to allow it to breathe.
Another area for improvement, or at least something to think about going forward, is the presence of tension in the work. Sean is clearly concerned with the conceptual angles of his work, but I'm not convinced he's given enough consideration to the visual aspect of the sculptures. I found that for the most part the works are flat. Grays, light blues, light yellows, etc... visually speaking there's little punch. My favorite piece hands down was the one hung second from left in the below image:
The dark brown found objects set against the concrete/plaster makes the piece pop. Out of the corner of my eye caught this piece and it pulled me in. If my memory is right, I believe the piece sold (as did a few others). But looking at the other works in the same image, I found that they weren't dynamic and would be so much stronger if they were.
OK, back to the WGS influence comment from above. In several of Sean's pieces, he incorporates kiln-formed glass elements. These come straight out of Tate's and Janis' bodies of work. And that's fine, I suppose, since as Lenny has suggested the Washington Glass School is developing a new "school" for glassworking. And as such there are the innovators and the "school." But I'd encourage Sean to think a lot about how he can incorporate narrative kiln-formed glass elements in his work in an original way.
Thus far this "review" has been "negative." But honestly, I don't mean this to be overly-critical of his work. I see that there are elements to his work that suggest some promising work in the future (not that this work is unpromising). Sean is a conceptually oriented artist and he has some good ideas to explore. His medium is unusual. His use of found objects opens some interesting doors conceptually and visually. He's got a great supporting cast.
I congratulate Sean on his first solo show and I encourage him to push, push, push his medium.
[On a more personal note, I can't help but think of my own first solo show almost two years ago. A lot of the criticism I make above would have applied to my own work then. I'd be curious to hear what Sean thinks of this show two years from now."
[Comments to above blog post]
"I've always been attracted to Sean's work, and somewhat disagree that his works at the Baltimore gallery takes imagery from my work(or Tim's work). He does work with the same materials (cast float glass)and there will be some inherent similarities due to the process, but I feel that all the rest is Sean.
Michael,
I didn't say that his "imagery" was similar to that of your work and Tim's. I said the use of narrative cast float glass was straight out of your "school."
A quick Google search for Tim brought this front and center: http://www.thefrasergallery.com/artists/TimTate-art.html
Granted, the narrative is surely different, and the "things" depicted are different, but for me it's too close for comfort. Perhaps a different color (but not Tim's blue/brown color) would help... just trying to think of something simple. Is that a simple change? You know, if it is, that might introduce the dynamic something I felt was missing.
I'm not saying that by using this element it makes Sean's work bad. Actually, for a first show I wouldn't expect otherwise. I'd just encourage him to think about how to differentiate himself from being too superficially similar to your work and Tim's.
Hey JT
Thanks for taking the time to go to Baltimore to see Sean Hennessey's magnificent first solo show. Touchet Gallery is certainly a beautifil space and hopefully marks a emergence of interesting galleries in that great neighborhood.
I'm happy that you see the Washington Glass School's influence on Sean's work, though for Sean we simply showed him how to transpose the imagery he's been using for a decade into glass. But I agree the Washington Glass School has much influence on many artists in the area. Artists such as Robert Weiner, Alison Sigethy, Syl Mathis....just to name a few of the thousands of artists who have worked in our studio and gone on to greater art careers. We pride ourselves on our "artist incubator" component. We are also the people who reccomended Sean's work to Touchet Gallery.
As with any movement, it is perhaps difficult to spot nuance in the earlest phases. To all of us here, Sean's work does not resemble ours in concept or style, although perhaps in technique. (In the same way one water color may resemble another). It is this fine nuance that will develop as time goes on and the popularity of narrative, content driven glass increases in popularity. You, J.T., as the town crier of minamalism will see this as time goes on. Isn't that what much of minamalism embraces, nuance?
When any art form is new, it can be difficult to see these subtleties for even the most trained eye. With over 2000 artists going through our doors we have seen each find their voice in glass, especially after working in it for a few years. All art forms develop slowly, even glass.
Keep up the great work......just finding Touchet Gallery speaks to your tireless efforts to keep an eye on the greater art scene in the Washington/Baltimore area.
I'd still love to have that gallery show where minamalism goes head to head with narrative. Although I think narrative is gaining strength. :)
Tim,
Thanks for responding! I was waiting for your input. :)
I wanted to pull out one part of your comment specifically:
"As with any movement, it is perhaps difficult to spot nuance in the earlest phases. To all of us here, Sean's work does not resemble ours in concept or style, although perhaps in technique. (In the same way one water color may resemble another). It is this fine nuance that will develop as time goes on and the popularity of narrative, content driven glass increases in popularity. You, J.T., as the town crier of minamalism will see this as time goes on. Isn't that what much of minamalism embraces, nuance?
When any art form is new, it can be difficult to see these subtleties for even the most trained eye."
You say that you don't think Sean's work resembles your's in content or style. I guess it depends on how closely you look. From my perspective, it resembles it very much. Sure, it deals with separate issues, and his work incorporates concrete and plaster instead of steel, but you both use kiln-formed glass (relief sculpture, essentially) and found objects. I think your content is more personal than his, but you both present narratives.
Now, if you go down into the subtleties more than that, I'm sure you can differentiate the work. I'm not saying you're wrong, but if "even the most trained eye" can't discern the differences, what about the rest of us regular folks?
I also don't think you can use the analogy of watercolor compared to another watercolor here. That would be like saying glass to glass, and we're a lot more specific than that here. There's a wide range of watercolors in the world and large variety of glass. Obviously I can't compare your work, for example, to Marvin Lipofsky. Totally different. Your work and Sean's is much, much closer.
As for our show idea... you're always too busy for that. You want me to do all the work! And to clarify... it's not Minimalism versus narrative. It's non-narrative versus narrative. If we narrowed it down to Minimalism in D.C., I wouldn't be able to find many artists to participate. In fact, I'm not sure I can think of a single artist in DC that would fit the bill (the way I define and look at Minimalism).
To conclude, I definitely see where you're coming from, Tim, but I do think you have WSG-tinted glasses on. I admitted in my review that I fully expected Sean's work to be heavily influenced by the WSG (content, style, technique, etc), but I wanted to encourage him to think about how he wishes to differentiate himself from the School. The vast majority of people can't tell the difference between a Picasso Cubist painting and a Braque. Fortunately for them, they together founded, oh, Cubism... perhaps the most important movement in 20th century art. One could argue that you, Tim, are the leader of the narrative, content-based glass art movement. You'll get that credit... not Sean... if that sort of thing is important.
Hey, it was a pleasure to meet you last Saturday!
Here's a question I'm sure you've already been asked ad nauseum, but here goes:
"If we narrowed it down to Minimalism in D.C., I wouldn't be able to find many artists to participate. In fact, I'm not sure I can think of a single artist in DC that would fit the bill (the way I define and look at Minimalism)."
Okay. Your work is definitely minimal, spare, uses an economy of means...but doesn't adding that "-ism" imply connection with the art historical movement of the same name--the endpoint of high formalism/modernism back in the late '60s and early '70s?
Is that a meaningful connection in 2007? Are you setting yourself against contemporary practice, or suggesting a period revival--another neo-modern fad, like we would've seen in the '80s--or are you just expressing a loose affinity?
I'm not trying to give you a hard time; I'm just genuinely curious what you think.
Pleasure to meet you as well! I'm glad you asked this question.
When I first answered this question, it was far too long. Plus, I realized who I was replying to (an award winning critic) and decided you probably already knew everything I was saying. So I deleted that answer and am going with the following. It's in list form... true to my style:
1) I don't think my work falls under the definition of "Minimalism," at least how I think of it. In fact, I think a lot of artists get lumped into the category unfairly while others (based on your very brief definition) get left out. Meaning, I can think of a whole lot more sparse work made with an economy of means than gets categorized as Minimalism. I wish we could do away with the term, honestly.
2) Minimalism often has a negative connotation to it, I think. Perhaps I'm being defensive (since it's used to describe my work), but it's as if people think there's nothing there. In fact, that's an extremely simplistic view but often reflective of the person who thinks it.
3) My work is obviously connected in some way to movements in art history. All of our work is, so this is OK by me.
4) Honestly, the only thing I care about 2007 is that I am living in it and making my work. I don't care what everyone else is doing or what is in style. I can't worry about that... I can only make the best work possible.
5) I'm not setting myself against anything nor proposing any period revivals. I drill holes in wood and I draw circles and lines on paper. It's up to you, the critic, and Johnny Q. Curator to figure out what my work means in the art historical sense. Do I think that people should/will enjoy/respect my work? Yes I do.
6) An anecdote: whenever I go to art fairs, or big biennials (Whitney, for example), I always come away feeling confident that I am making the right work. And this is with the knowledge that my work clearly wouldn't fit very well in such shows.
7) I'm sure that if I had an MFA I could have answered these questions much better, but no more honest.
I appreciate the question... and I certainly don't think you're giving me a hard time. Now, if I were in one of your classes... yikes! :)
Good responses, all...but I guess I'm still confused that anyone would label your work "Minimalism" with a capital "M". To me, that's like calling a contemporary painter a "Fauvist" or a "Cubist" or something. Not physically possible.
And, yeah, obviously your work is informed by art history--that's one of the differences between good work and un-self-aware junk.
But that capital "M" suggests to me that you've gone beyond being informed and actually invented a time machine.
As for the idea that it's hard for "people" to accept minimal, materials or process-based work...well, what people, exactly? Who is your audience? Who isn't?
There are "people" who can't accept anything other than a watercolor of the Blue Ridge mountains as painting.
As for the MFA, there are plenty of people with that credential who still have no idea what they're doing. It all depends on what you feel you need to do to move your work forward.
Schooling isn't always the answer; it's just nice sometimes to put your work in some sort of hothouse environment--a residency, an academic program, a collaborative project--that accelerates change and forces growth. The credential doesn't mean so much, otherwise.
Jeffry,
Thanks for the response. I totally agree... I don't know why people would label my work as "Minimalism," but to be fair, there was a time when I did that. My first solo show was called, "Studies in Organic Minimalism." I thought at the time I had to create my own label for my work. It was some bad advice I took and soon I realized how restrictive that was. I dropped the label quickly and now just call my wood work "Wood."
People have a fascination with labels. And when there isn't another obvious label to apply, some grab hold of "Minimalism." I think sometimes it's used to label the work something, and other times it's to insult it like I stated earlier.
You said: "As for the idea that it's hard for "people" to accept minimal, materials or process-based work...well, what people, exactly? Who is your audience? Who isn't?"
This is an excellent point. When I say "people," I mean in general. I don't know who these people are, but I hear it a lot. But I do know who doesn't say it, and those are the people I care about: gallerists, collectors, curators, critics, some more "aware" artists, etc. When I do hear "Minimalism" it doesn't make me question my work, I just give the person the benefit of the doubt that they were just looking for a label.
Thanks again for the comments.
I think the answer is somewhere between Jeffry's and yours.
Jeffry is a very intelligent and erudite (and young looking) dude, but like a lot of us, sometimes gets wrapped around words and the irrisistible slogans of art theory and the rules of it "newness."
A visit to any art fair also reveals that there are plenty of Cubists and Fauvists and other "ists" still painting and creating work that if taken back in a time machine to the periods of those Western art movements, would slip right in "un-noticed." But I guess we don't call them that... but we still call, spare, minimal materials, austere work: "minimalist" as used in an adjective form (and maybe now I am agreeing with Jeffry on the use of the capital "M").
OK, so maybe he's right...
Now I'm thinking that we should call people who do the 40 year old genre of video... videoists? No! Videoists!
And JT - maybe you should invent a "ism" and call your work "Minimawoodism."
Fun with Lenny, Kirkland and Cudlin!
:-)
Kirkland, J.T. Thinking About Art. "Sean Hennessey @ Touchet Gallery." January 22, 2007. accessed October 18, 2009. http://thinkingaboutart.blogs.com/art/2007/01/sean_hennessey_.html
"A dark sense of urgency pervades Bertil Vallien's new body of work. It's less the slow, global-warming variety of creeping doom, and more the desperate, George Bush, "Mission Accomplished" version—a dire, immediate need to reassure that everything is okay, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Buried deep within Vallien's oily black landscapes is a sincere seed of hope, a glimmer of faith in the versatility and ingenuity of mankind to sort things out in the end.With his "Black" series,Vallien breaks out of his long-established form—the sculptural encasement of captured images in glass. In some ways less self-consciously primitive than his earlier work, these pockmarked noir landscapes are recognizable but not realistic; they exude an aura of otherworldliness. These are vacant, abandoned topographies reduced to experiment and calculation, poked and parlayed by unnatural intrusion and handling. Edges are punched by blocks of empty space. Bleak terrain is marked in an attempt to control geometry of abode, these new cropped and partitioned tableaus flirt with the fine line between abstraction and representation.Nobody sand-casts glass better.
In Boundary I Call works discussed are from 2007), we see clearly the depth of Vallien's understanding of the medium. Using sand's inherent fissures and fickleness, its ability to take even the finest mark from the maker, Vallien displays extraordinary finesse and finds room for expression through ingenious virtuosity.Be it home, heaven, or headstone, the division of space in these works is often misdirected. In the plotting of this land we find fences erected not only between properties but also delineating the old and the new, the past and the future. Fine dots denote pathways, the history of movement across the Earth's surface as depicted in a thick black glass slab.Conquest is a familiar theme in Vallien's work, and in the "Ararat" series his familiar boat form returns to offer sanctuary. The game board composition of Desert Snow II is an attempt at establishing rules in which a bright red, seemingly seaworthy pawn floats across the "playing field" like a lone flare sent out to survey a battlefield. The alarming color of this element contrasts sharply with its support, and we anticipate its next move. An iridized powder-blue coating, sparingly sprinkled over the surface like freshly fallen snow, seduces the eye to explore this cold, twilight landscape.In Tension III we find a foreign polished glass orb that contrasts sharply with the rough terrain. Apparently fallen from the sky, it is an unexpected intrusion into the neatly arranged row of houses built up to the point of the alien form's impact. We witness some attempt at understanding the disruption, inducing thoughts of escape, reconciliation, and cohabitation.Vallien's new body of work is increasingly proactive and drives to change rather than simply reflect. His color is less chromatic than in the past, and Vallien utilizes a greater variety of materials, such as the pairing of glass and a painted back panel. While at times this mixing of materials feels incongruous, at other times it is highly effective, as in the inclusion and placement of a block of wood in Desert Snow III. Vallien exhibits a desire to learn from the too-often-repeated mistakes of the past. By celebrating alternatives through language and touch, change and accord, he is seeking to point the way to a better place.
Drury, J. "Bertil Vallien" Glass Quarterly. No. 110. Accessed through the Heller Gallery pdf file, Google automatically generated html file: http://74.125.155.13/search?q=cache:oLjypn8sZa8J:www.bertilvallien.se/heller2007.pdf+bertil+vallien+review&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
2007 Robert C. Morgan:
“In addition to his internationally recognized achievements and innovations as an artist working in the medium of glass, Bertil Vallien is one of the best writers about art that I have encountered in recent years. When I read what he says about art, I can relax and accept the facts and the stories as they intertwine with the metaphors.They blend together beautifully—just as they do in his art.
His language is somehow embedded in the crust of the earth and his forms are as clear as the sky above it. I trust what he does as I respect what he says.Technique also winds into philosophy and philosophy takes me to the heart and mind of how the artist thinks and, most of all, how the artist feels.Feeling is something that is scarcely mentioned among the new generation of global artists who all seem to speak the same language as if they all conformed to the same idea.Maybe they do.But Vallien does not seem to worry about these things.It is not his concern.He sticks to what he knows and he knows it well. That is the subject of his art.For example, take the following:‘A violent transformation does not take place in the cooling oven.When the sculpture is pried out and removed from the cooler, the red-hot boat has turned to everlasting ice.The tale the sculpture tells is captured for eternity in the glass, and only infernal fires can restore it to its original form.’I find Vallien’s humility intriguing in relation to the natural forces that guide his work.At the same moment, there is the split-second decision-making in relation to precision heating, cooling, and temperature control.The tension and balance between the elements implies an inexorable feat of force, dexterity and intelligence. This is the human factor.This is the miracle that functions in relation to time, space, and material, and what Vallien makes possible through h is work.I appreciate that he refers to his work as ‘sculpture’ when he discusses the process of its making.These vital tactile molecular translucent forms—these houses, bridges, pendulums, totems, suspended boats, cast Janus heads, blue men, idols, watchers, landings, compass circles, and sparkling eternal heads sealed within ova—are all about sculpture.There are not merely three-dimensional objects, but sculpture with a spatial component, a temporal presence, and a historical context that opens the threshold of human understanding to primordial history, to language, and to the restless energy that, for better or for worse, keeps the spirit of the human race intact.In recent years, I have written and spoken much about the future in terms of discovering a balance between the tactile and the virtual dimensions of our reality.Living in New York is like being in a post-human ultra-market, a digital pod of some sort, where the virtuality of time and space are removing us from experiencing the present.We are learning to exist without any reference tour own bodies.Artists in West Chelsea are seducing us with the glitter of trans-sexual identity, with propositions about information overlay that will expose us once and for all, as if solitude with one’s own thoughts and feelings were no longer important.What I find important about the extraordinary glass sculpture of Bertil Vallien is his defiance with regard to defending the tactile dimensions of life, knowing that all emotion is centered in the touch, whether it e physical, emotional, or intellectual.Even ideas can hold a tactile relationship to the manner in which we think and behave.Vallien’s work—whether in the cast blue heads or the watchers, the vibrating Janus heads, or the incredible boats that take us on a metaphorical journal through life or death—is fundamentally about he necessity of the tactile world, the manner in which we touch something or someone, and how we reference our bodies to the environment around us in the process of thought and feeling.Vallien’s forms tell a story, an extended allegory about life, as in hi recent ‘Desert Snow’ series, and in the ‘Ararat’ and ‘Tension’ series.With these remarkable allegories or modern life, he reminds us of the bio-chemical and neurophysical necessity to absorb beauty into our lives as a method of sensory cognition, organic safety, and ultimate survival.Vallien’s glass forms are teaching us about the quality of life—that we cannot afford to lose it.The challenge is to re-discovery [sic] the significance of the tactile world in relation to the overwhelming push toward t he virtual.This is where Vallien’s art plays an essential role.The viewer might look closely at works, such as ‘Adobe 1’ or ‘Ararat II,’ or at any of the Janus heads.These have resonances that bled the tactile and virtual together and that offer an omen for a better world. Buddhism teaches us that the minds should empty itself and that we should then awaken to our true selves.But, in fact, there is no divided self in Buddhism, as there appears to be in the Western world.Psychoanalysis came to the West over a century ago as a way of healing the anxieties induced by the divided self.At the same time, such healing was less apparent in Asia, but now this is changing.I regard Vallien’s ‘Watchers’ to be healing devices, not in the literal sense, but as metaphorical signs that human beings cannot live happily without confronting the mysteries that encompass the dark side of existence.Some may be struck with anxiety in looking at the blue heads or the Janus houses, but this is an important rite of passage, I feel, in coming to terms with both the art and with oneself as the observer.Viewing Vallien’s work is like a form of meditation in that we allow ourselves to concentrate on the form and to experience something intimate within ourselves.This has everything to do with the tactile dimension of life as a means to detour the anxieties wrought from speed and excess, so prevalent in the world today.I feel comfortable with Vallien’s work for this reason, because it does what significant art has always done throughout the history of civilization.It offers a place of solace for the human eye, heart, an brain, and it engages us with something beautiful.When we awaken from the experience, we realize that we have been on a journey that has restore our sense of hope and well-being.Only the best art can perform this function.Vallien’s art is there.
Morgan, R.C.“Bertil Vallien: Houses and Archetypes” in 'Bertil Vallien: Black.' catalog published by Heller Gallery, NY. 2007. [typed by ABJ].
2007 Jessica O. Marsh:
"Bertil Vallien’s current show at Heller Gallery informed me about the interplay of material and surface treatment. I find this an interesting and difficult problem: the surface of a sculpture may use the metaphor of a canvas, but that is not what it is. On the contrary, the glaze and paint used on sculptural materials like glass and ceramics is made of a combination of the substances, including the base substance itself. With a better understanding of this is mind, I can imagine the surface like the pearl of a shell or the top coat of earth that crusts over under intense sunlight.
Take for example, any of the Janus series. The painted face is plunged in a material of its same kind, and due to the angle of cut/polish, it faces an image of itself at an angle. Combined with the title, this is quite a suggestive. [...] In fact, many of these pieces have an ancient quality or narrative of myth. Many of the surfaces are rough and corroded and the human figure is lodged in these landscapes, reminiscent both of ancient rock quarries and deteriorating iron pipes under an oil shine. The colors tend towards cold and petrification marked by bright red string, paint, and what appears to be slivers of claw. These are challenging works in both their obstinate materiality and in the quality of their craftsmanship."
Marsh, J.O. "Bertil Vallien at Heller Gallery." This is a Ceramics Blog, Thank You. October 25, 2007. http://blogs.nyu.edu/blogs/jom211/ceramicsblog/2007/10/post_1.html
2007 my madeleines:
"The Museum of Glass and the Chihuly bridge, in the revitalized waterfront district of downtown Tacoma, were both completed after my last visit to the city...so you can guess where I spent my free time before heading to the airport this time around. I'd heard amazing tales of the museum from friends who've visited Tacoma more recently and I had to check it out for myself. I can now boast my own amazing tales because this excursion did not disappoint.
The exhibit Contrasts: a glass primer, by visiting curator Vicki Halper, runs through November 2009. I've never paused so long to ponder glass and I found the entire experience fascinating. The exhibit challenges the viewer to not simply say "I like it" or "I don't like it..." but rather it provides a vocabulary to describe the artwork before making a judgment. This description-first attitude is how I approach any exhibit (or film, etc.), but it was surreal to see these instructions emblazoned on the wall. I also learned a great deal about glass as art. For instance, a number of pieces focus on "appearance and formation" with words such as "natural/fabricated, hot/warm/cold, transparent/translucent/opaque, factory/studio" - while other pieces focus on the "aesthetic and iconographic" with words like "forms/surface, vessel/sculpture, useful/fanciful, art/craft." Vessels function, sculptures describe...and so on.
The northwest is generally considered the womb of the studio glass movement and Dale Chihuly is the famous Tacoma-ite artist at the center of it all. Almost better than the museum itself is the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. There are three parts to this outdoor, 500-foot, 24/7/365 art exhibit: the crystal towers (which you can see in my photos above), the Venetian Bridge, and the Seaform Pavilion (photos of both below). I've traveled to Venice and visited both Murano and Burano in search of beautiful glass...and who knew I would find a breathtaking rival in my own backyard.
The bridge passes over the 705 freeway, the high-traffic entrance to Tacoma. One side of the bridge is full of cubbyholes housing individual pieces of Chihuly's blown glass. This section is known as the Venetian Wall. The sun shining is a rare moment in Tacoma, but even without the sun blazing through the back of the cases, the bridge takes your breath away. I tried to take a comprehensive photo that would do it justice, but I couldn't capture it how it deserves to be captured. I recommend you check out the professional photos. The second half of the bridge is known as the Seaform Pavilion. As awesome as the Venetian wall is, I think this is the more magical half. It's magical because it sneaks up on you and attacks you with the brightest colors you've ever seen. You walk under thick panels of glass housing Chihuly's colorful glass interpretations of sea creatures and flowing water. I could spend all day under there I loved it so much.
Before the museum and the bridge came to be, Chihuly installed a number of pieces in the courthouse (previously the railroad's Union Station). My favorite is the massive half-circle window facing the waterfront.
I went into the museum gift shop intending to purchase a $1.50 postcard, or perhaps splurge $30 for a book of Maya Lin's landscape work (Maya Lin is most famous for designing the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial at age 21 and had a really moving piece in the current Mining Glass exhibit). I exited the museum gift shop 30 minutes later and hundreds of dollars poorer with a magnificent Kosta Boda vase tucked under my arm. Oops. It was a very KJBella moment...she knows exactly what I'm talking about. I don't regret it for a moment. It was love at first sight when, from across the room, my eyes locked on the graceful Olle Brozen vase. It's an Artist Choice piece from the floating flowers collection and it's just what my living room has been missing..."
author unknown. "Nice Glass." my madeleines blog. November 10, 2007. Accessed November 2, 2009. http://mymadeleines.blogspot.com/2007/11/nice-glass-tacoma-wa.html
2007 my madeleines:
"Inside the steel cone-shaped tower at the Museum of Glass is the museum's hot shop (aka artist's glass blowing studio). Pulling stats from their website: The hot shop cone is 90-feet tall, 100-feet in diameter at its base, and narrows to a 15-foot opening. It's difficult to describe (and even more difficult to photograph), so check out the hyperlink for photos...but there is a 200-seat ampitheatre, a live play-by-play announcer prowling the studio floor with a microphone in hand, and gigantic projection screen providing both close-up and wide-angle video shots of the artists at work. It's out of this world. I love it.
The museum was hosting visiting artists from Australia who I'm told are quite famous in the art glass world...and who's names I can't remember without researching the website. The primary reason I can't remember the Aussies is not because they weren't talented or interesting, but rather it's because resident artist Gabe Feenan and I were busy making eyes at each other for the 45 minutes I spent in the hot shop spectator box. Other than the few brief moments I spent admiring the oddly sexy lesbian glassblowers (not a single straight woman on the studio floor...hmmm?) I was batting my eyelashes at Gabe...and I dare say he was batting right back. What a lovely Tacoma surprise."
my madeleines. "Random Tacoma surprise: hot men & hot lesbians blowing in the hot shop." accessed November 2, 2009. November 11, 2009 post. http://mymadeleines.blogspot.com/2007/11/random-tacoma-surprise-hot-men-hot.html
Posted by: michael janis | Monday, January 22, 2007 at 05:10 PM