Glass art explores ideas new and old
JournalNews
Sept. 7, 2007
CINCINNATI — Since the glass art revolution started in the 1960s, Ohio has been at the center of development; so when Hamilton art patrons Gerald and Gerry Hammond began working with the Fitton Center for an exhibition to complement the summer quilt show, they didn’t have to look far for expert assistance.
Cincinnati art dealer Marta Hewett has focused exclusively on glass art since 1995, and her current gallery is located above Neusole Glass Works, one of the few hot glass studios in the area.
This weekend, the Marta Hewett Gallery opens a showing of work by Memphis-based artist Brian Russell, one of the first American glass sculptors to use a wax method commonly used to cast metals.
One of Russell’s creations, “Torrent,” will be installed in Hamilton sometime next year. According to City of Sculpture officials, the piece, purchased by the Hamilton Rotary Club, is in storage, slated to be installed near the Hamiltonian Hotel once renovations are completed.
“Russell uses glass in a strictly sculptural way,” Hewett said. “He uses metal and glass together, which you don’t see a lot of. The glass is a nice component because it engages the light in a different way than metal.”
Hewett said that until Harvey Littleton and Dominick Labino introduced a new way of melting glass at lower temperatures and developed the equipment to allow for individual studios, glass art was more decorative than sculptural. During a series of workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art beginning in 1962, Littleton and Labino showed that it was possible for an artist to work in their own studio like a potter or a painter.
Littleton went on to start a glass art program at the University of Wisconsin. One of his students was Dale Chihuly, who not only went on to start similar programs in Rhode Island and Washington state, but is also one of the world’s premiere glass artists.
And it was a trip to a Chihuly exhibition in Florida about 10 years ago that sparked the Hammond’s interest in glass art, and they in turn suggested to the Fitton Center’s exhibitions director Cathy Mayhugh that a glass exhibition would be a nice complement to the biannual summer quilt show.
“It’s like sharing our great love with people who need to understand why we love it so much,” the Hammonds said in a gallery statement.For the “Fabric & Glass” exhibition, Hewett selected glass works in which the artist referred to fiber arts or adapted a technique commonly used by a fiber artist, such as weaving.
Because studio glass is still a relatively young medium, such innovations are common, Hewett said.
“There aren’t any rules or limits, so every year I continue to see things that are so surprising,” she said, “someone who’s using a new technique or an old technique in different ways.”
Photos by Cameron Knight
Top: A piece by Czech artist Martin Janecky in a current exhibition at the Marta Hewett Gallery.
2) A blown glass piece by Afro Celotto called Zona Calda shown at the Marta Hewett Gallery.
3) Glass artist Christopher Gatto cools and shapes a piece on wet newspaper Wednesday at Neusole Glassworks in Cincinnati which shares a building with the Marta Hewett Gallery.
4) Glass artist John Ruzsa blows a glass piece Wednesday at Neusole Glassworks in Cincinnati which shares a building with the Marta Hewett Gallery.
5) A glass vase by Louisville artist Brook White shown at the Marta Hewett Gallery
6) Glass artist Christopher Gatto pulls heated glass around a piece Wednesday at Neusole Glassworks in Cincinnati which shares a building with the Marta Hewett Gallery
"Torrent" by Brian Russell
