The ancient craft of working with molten glass continues today as a 'new' artform that produces beautiful, useful and decorative objects. Modern glass art seems to encapsulate the mystery of fire, joy of colour, pride of function and strength of beauty. In this exhibition the artists display not only their creativity and aptitude with the medium, but their celebration of the artform.
Be prepared to have your breath taken away as you walk around the gallery. The exhibits here reveal a variety of styles, shapes, sizes and colours of clear and opaque glass that has been blown or fused, etched or sandblasted, layered and polished so as to boggle the mind and delight the eye.
Even before entering the gallery you'll fall in love with Emerald green fallen leaf with seeds by Ben Edols & Kathy Elliott. Here we see six, small perfectly shaped orbs nestling on their long, gently undulating single leaf bed. Total elegance. Then inside the door Kevin Gordon's Golden Desert is, in every sense of the word, stunning. This perfectly formed vase stops you in your tracks with its layers of colour and a pattern that suggests suns radiating around its surface.
Wander further into the gallery and delight in Tali Dalton's collection of blown tubes, set in pairs that twist, turn and intertwine either upwards or horizontally. The colours, undulations and perfectly smooth surfaces invite the hand to caress each exhibit. We hesitate to touch the rough surfaces of Caitlin McArdle's Pate de Verre series Spore but curiosity brings us close to investigate what seems to be exotic seed casings from some alien world. Meanwhile her trio of carved cast lead crystal spheres, each with a smooth flat side, are more inviting. Their cool hues and 'window' effect bring us up close to peer into the glass. All I can say is this must be what it's like to look into a glacier.
Much appreciated too are the large sculptural pairs by Philip Stokes that seem like the result of a giant's toffee pulling contest. The size, colour and sinuous flow of the material is so impressive one doesn't want to know how it's done as it might lessen the wonder. The same acceptance of the impossible is experienced in the fantasy of Nick Mount's collection of large, funky scent bottles. What immediately comes to mind is a giant Mrs Mad Hatter's vanity table! Smaller but no less impressive are the red and white Triffids by Lucas Salton, Constantin Radu's Tornado collection and Marcus Dillon's Amalgamation, which appears to be flowing broad line transformed by fire into an object of beauty.
Kudos too for the presentation of these exhibits on specially made light boxes, and the selection of colourful paintings, all fine in their own right, so as to compliment the glass. Do see this presentation of new and literally 'wonderful' modern glass art.