VisitExhibitions2019

Kate Baker

In this solo exhibition of atmospheric works that layer digital imagery and surface texture on glass, artist Kate Baker examines concepts of the human condition, the physical body and the intangible nature of our emotions.

Image: Kate Baker, Untitled (When You Were Four) #4, detail, 2019, hand and digitally printed silver mirror, courtesy of the artist.

Spike Deane, Peter Nilsson and Luna Ryan

Artists Spike Deane, Peter Nilsson and Luna Ryan reveal their fascination for storytelling in contemporary studio glass. Their passion for old and new materials and techniques are used as a vehicle to explore different aspects of storytelling from the imagined to the modern-day. Together they demonstrate the strength of narrative based art practice today.

on display in Gallery one

Image: Luna Ryan, The silent scream behind the broken screen (shadowplay), detail, 2019, cast glass, bronze, recycled television screen, courtesy of the artist
Photo: Adam McGrath

Mariana del Castillo

Ecuador-born artist Mariana del Castillo uses found objects to construct and explore stories relating to cultural dislocation through migration. Perceived indifference tells the story of the recent demolishing of her childhood home in Ecuador. del Castillo addresses questions to her identity by reconnecting with her own personal sense of loss, which over time she has chosen to abandon.

on display in Smokestack gallery

Image: Perceived Indifference, detail, 2019, courtesy of the artist
Photo: Adam McGrath

G.W.Bot

G.W.Bot is a printmaker, painter, sculptor and graphic artist who has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally.  Works created for this exhibition were made at Canberra Glassworks during her 2018 residency where she explored the ideas of language, symbols and materials.

Giles Ryder

Giles Ryder is based between Thailand and Australia. Writing of Ryder’s practice, art critic Roger Nelson has suggested that the artist is “… energized by ambiguity, shifts and blurs in perception and meaning, and by the participation of others, in various forms”. During his residency at Canberra Glassworks Ryder will create a site specific installation for the Smokestack.

Image: Giles Ryder, Fractured Galaxy, detail, 2019, neon. Photo: Brenton McGeachie

Maree Clarke & Mitch Mahoney

In this exhibition artists Maree Clarke (Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta, Boonwurrung, Wemba Wemba,), and her nephew, Mitch Mahoney (Boonwurrung and Barkindji), expand their practice by exploring the use of glass as a new material. Both Melbourne based, the artists are actively involved in reviving elements of Aboriginal culture that have either laid dormant or sadly been lost post Colonisation.

Clarke’s continuing desire to affirm and reconnect with her cultural heritage has seen her reification of the traditional possum skin cloaks, together with the production of contemporary designs of kangaroo teeth necklaces, and string headbands adorned with kangaroo teeth and echidna quills.

Featured image: Maree Clarke, Ancestral Memory, 2019 (installation photograph), glass, steel. Courtesy of the artist and Vivien Anderson Gallery. Photograph: Christian Capurro

Image: Image: Maree Clarke, Ancestral Memory 2, 2019, blown and coldworked glass, stainless steel.
Courtesy of the artist and Vivien Anderson Gallery
Photograph: Brenton McGeachie

The biennial Klaus Moje Glass Award honours one of the most significant contemporary artists working in glass and in keeping with Moje’s ethos of supporting all artists, the award will now be national.

Shortlisted works will be on display at Thor’s Hammer from 20 September to 12 October 2019, with the recipient of the inaugural Klaus Moje Glass Award being announced on Wednesday 25 September 2019.

Klaus Moje Glass Award 2019 is presented by Canberra Glassworks at Thor’s Hammer, The Mixing Room Gallery, 10 Mildura St. Griffith ACT 2603. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 10am tp 4pm.

 Jamie North

Earlier this year when Canberra Glassworks replaced its main glass furnace, Jamie North was invited to make works which utilised the by-product of the glass making process. This introduction allowed North to further explore glass as a new sculptural and functional material. In this exhibition North uses glass as a container which regenerates, sustains and evolves the micro-environment captured within. These works continue to focus on ideas of human impact, industry and nature within living sculptural installations.

Image: Jamie North, works in progress at Canberra Glassworks, 2019, blown glass.

Richard Whiteley

Richard Whitleley’s practice is centred on cast glass and the exploration of negative structures and suggested forms in glass solids. Organising the voids first, the artist then creates external structures to encapsulate these spaces. Using the material qualities of glass, notably its transparency, translucency and surface texture, the artist creates a dialogue between the void and the form.

Smokestack gallery.

Image: Richard Whiteley, Envelope (detail), 2019, cast glass, courtesy of the artist. Photo: Greg Piper

Clare Belfrage

With a career spanning almost three decades, the multi-award winning artist has forged an international reputation for her finely detailed glass sculptures that marry organic blown forms with intricate line work. Throughout her career, Clare Belfrage has maintained a vibrant studio glass practice and is known for her distinctive artworks in which complex patterns of fine glass lines trace her forms. Inspired by the repetitious patterns found in nature and the woven lines of textiles, Belfrage is particularly drawn to the layered rhythms that mark growth, change and the passing of time in the natural world.
JamFactory ICON: Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time is a JamFactory touring exhibition.

Image: Clare Belfrage, Quiet Shifting, Orange and Oceans, 2018, courtesy of the artist and JamFactory. Photo: Pippy Mount