Craft Scotland Celebrates ... Glass

ABOUT

We are delighted once again to partner with Craft Scotland in the second of our planned series of media specific showcases that we inaugurated in 2016. Each year we will come together to shine a spotlight on craft and we will highlight a different craft discipline in each subsequent VAS annual exhibition. We will celebrate our mutual ambition to exhibit quality craft in a venue fitting of its stature, and in context alongside works of fine art. Following on from the success of last year, for 2018 we will celebrate contemporary glass through a presentation of multidisciplinary works from gifted Scottish makers.

Challenging the common perceptions of glass, this year our showcase highlights the diversity of glass techniques and styles in a dramatic presentation. Selected by the VAS committee and representatives of Craft Scotland, the three invited glass artists will form the starting point for a wider celebration of the diverse discipline of glass throughout the open exhibition. 

Alan Horsley
Drawing on a strong interest in glass chemistry and composition, Alan uses the incredible flexibility of the material to breathe life into his sculptures. The works reflect the complex, sometimes confusing, interactions between the physical and mental elements of our lives. Inspired by the figurative and design traditions of the High Baroque, Alan seeks to create bold, emotional sculpture which uses glass sensitively to afford a glimpse into the inner workings and mysteries of each piece.

Carrie Fertig
Carrie uses flame-worked glass in an interdisciplinary practice incorporating sound, light, fire, electronics, dance, and film to address emotional, spiritual, and physical states and thresholds. Her preferred materials are invisible or transparent: sound and clear glass. Her work is made with fire: ‘this elemental process speaks to my recurring subjects of human connection, self-knowledge, and flight and stasis. I build environments and situations to which people privately bring their deepest selves to visually public installations’.

Jeff Zimmer
Jeff Zimmer creates works with glass that explore ambiguity, morality and mortality in contemporary society and politics. His pieces are designed to engage with the sensual experiences of mystery and light. He subverts notions of light, investigating its capacity for evocation, mystery and ambiguity in place of its traditional associations with clarity, divinity, revelation and simplified notions of truth.

Craft Scotland Award for Glass
And to celebrate the work of the wider glass comunity... in conjunction with the media showcase Craft Scotland will also make an award of £500 to one glass artist from the Open Submission section of OPEN 2018. Glass artists are actively encouraged to submit their work for the Open Submission which demonstrates fully the diversity of contemporary and applied art being created today, and offers the opportunity for emerging and established contemporary artists, designers and craft makers to showcase new and unseen work in Scotland’s flagship exhibiting venue.

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Applications are welcomed from members and non members, but Members of Visual Arts Scotland benefit from reduced entry fees. Subscriptions start at just £20, sign up online today to take advantage of this and many more membership perks: