Glass blowers need a lot of moxie. Much of their artwork never reaches a finished state because of the delicate nature of the medium and the many steps involved. The glass frequently breaks while being blown, during the annealing (cooling) process or when it is being sandblasted or etched.
“Glass artists know that they’ll end up breaking works and having a tremendous amount of waste. They know that theirs is an expressive but difficult to work medium,” says Ken Saunders, co-owner of the Marx-Saunders Gallery, which specializes in glass.
But beyond enjoying the technical virtuosity of the results, one of the best reasons to see the show of six glass artists’ works on view at Marx-Saunders is that few of the 19 pieces have the delicate translucency typically associated with the medium. The artists, all from Canada, use glass in ways that transform it, though their work has a common bond of physical and visual strength.
Daniel Crichton, a founder of the Glass Art Association of Canada, displays three large bowls that more closely resemble pottery. Sensuous green and blue exteriors evoke minerals and the surface of the Earth; the interiors of the bowls are bejeweled silvers and golds.
Made by blowing the glass at the end of a pontil or rod rather than into a mold, a process known as freeblown, the vessels are then cooled. Next, ground minerals and glass are applied to the exteriors in thick layers while the interiors are embellished with silver and gold colored oxides. The whole is refired in a kiln so the surfaces bind to the glass.
“There’s an element of spontaneity but also a well-worked whole,” Saunders says.
Part of each of Susan Edgerley’s four mixed-media works consists of glass that has been crushed and molded so that it resembles a giant shattered ice cube. But Edgerley doesn’t limit herself to glass. She attaches twigs and beads and large elements, some glass, wood or metal. She mounts the smaller works atop tables and the larger ones on the floor.
The most representational works are those of Irene Frolic. Her cast glass pieces have human heads with an aged blue, orange and black patina; metal oxides added to the glass mix produce the rich textures. Frolic is originally from Poland, and her works are about the transformation and survival of people, though they clearly also address the transformation — and survival — of molten glass.
To create these pieces, Frolic models busts in clay, paints the molds with copper and applies sand or other materials that adhere to the molten glass during the casting stage.
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The only disappointing works on view are Karl Schantz’s highly decorative painted glass, lucite and metal still lifes, with their static forms and syrupy colors.
– If you’re wondering about the contemporary Parisian art scene, a show at Gallery A in Chicago will provide a glimpse, through the works of four artists represented by Galerie Piltzer in the French capital.
The artists exhibit in a variety of media, including oils, acrylics and found objects. Most beguiling are the small square oil canvases by Remi Bourquin. His delicate scenes of Paris, Chicago and Laos resemble photographs in their arresting calmness. Yet, stylistically they are impressionistic, conveying through soft hues and textures a sense of place without revealing too much detail.
Bourquin deftly emphasizes a few elements. The small yellow house in “Maison Illuminee — Laos” stands forth amid the subtle blue and green mountains and sky. “The McDonalds Chicago” includes the familiar golden arch and a bit of the Merchandise Mart in the distance, but the pink sky and other buildings are less recognizable. “En Allant Au Village” includes a person moving along a path, but the artist quickly makes it apparent that the work is more about his interpretation of the scene by juxtaposing the small speck of the human against oversized shady trees.
Also worth looking at are the whimsical oil canvases and found objects of Philippe Hortala. He brings to life enormous strawberries atop little cakes, giant profiteroles or the fields in which fruits and vegetables are grown. He also creates gardening tools that take on a life of their own. “Canard” is actually part tool, with the beak of a canard at one end.
Gerard Paire’s paintings bear a slight resemblance to early Helen Frankenthaler stained canvases in the way their rich pinks, golds, blues, browns, grays and whites ooze into one another, though these have a shiny, gimmicky look.
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The “Canadian Glass Invitational” at Marx-Saunders Gallery Ltd., 230 W. Superior St., continues through Aug. 31. The Gallery A “Group Exhibition — Paris” at 300 W. Superior St., also continues through the end of the month.