SURFACE AND SYMBOL: SOFA CHICAGO 2004 GALLERIES AND DEALERS PRESENT ARTWORKS BRIDGING THE DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS

GLASS

Leading the way are the world’s finest sculptural glass galleries. Mary Daniels, Senior Arts Writer for the Chicago Tribune, said of SOFA CHICAGO, “Gallery after gallery (display) glass so gorgeous, it looks like pieces of heaven fallen to earth.” SOFA CHICAGO is delighted to welcome back the prestigious New York City gallery, Barry Friedman, Ltd., which will present focus shows of new work by renowned glass sculptors František Vizner of the Czech Republic and Erwin Eisch of Germany.

František Vizner Green Bowl with Peak, 2003 Cut, sandblasted and polished glass 19 inches Barry Friedman, Ltd., New York, NY

František Vizner’s (b. 1932) elegant minimalist sculptures in cut glass are a distillation of form and color. Working alone, without the aid of assistants and craftsmen, Vizner sculpts classical glass forms with a grindstone. Carole Hochman of Barry Friedman, Ltd., said of Vizner’s work, “Devoid of function and with no decorative intent, monochromatic forms of richly saturated color, celebrate the essential qualities of glass and explore the relationship between material, form, and light.” Vizner’s art has been shown in museums throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum (London), and Musée des Arts Decoratifs (Paris).

Erwin Eisch Glass Head-Inward Gaze, 2000 Blown in mold, manipulated while hot, with enamel decoration 18 5/8 x 11 3/4 x 10 ¾” Barry Friedman, Ltd., New York, NY

Barry Friedman Ltd.’s presentation at SOFA CHICAGO promises to be an interesting study in contrast, between the strictly vessel-based glass sculptures of Vizner—who has said, “The (vessel) always was and still remains my positive destiny in glass...I look upon the contemporary decline in interest in the functional value of glass and the preference for free creation as fashion;” and the freely blown sculptures of Erwin Eisch (b. 1927), pioneer and spiritual father of the European studio glass movement, whose poetic, pictorial, and often wonderfully bizarre works are renown for their strong luminous colors and lack of function.

Klaus Moje Penetrations, 2004 Glass 19.5 x 19.5 x 2.9 Heller Gallery, New York, NY

Heller Gallery, New York will premiere new work by Klaus Moje (German, b. 1936), who promoted kiln-formed glass to the status of a major art form worldwide, and whose abstract colorist forms have parallels with Abstract Expressionism, Op Art and Minimalism. Moje was Founding Head of the Glass Workshop at the Canberra School of Art of the Australian National University, which under his leadership, earned an international reputation as a center of excellence in the visual arts.

Klaus Moje Tumbling Lines II, 2004 Glass 19.5 x 19.5 x 2.9 Heller Gallery, New York, NY

Douglas Heller of Heller Gallery writes, “For a quarter century Klaus Moje has been one of the acknowledged leaders in the international glass community. His achievements as a studio artist, as well as his profound impact as a teacher have earned him honor upon honor. Now retired from teaching, he is devoting all of his energies to his glass and producing the most vibrant and complex works of his career. Moje’s Tumbling Lines II is a fused mosaic composed of hundreds of colored glass rods. While its surface is essentially flat the patterns create a painterly illusion of layers. A central field of zigzagging ribbons of stripes is flanked with two crescents filled with a scattering of the same ribbons chopped into shorter lengths. The neatened middle charting the way through the sea of chromatic chaos left on either side. This is an outstanding example of Moje’s most current work, which we will present at SOFA CHICAGO.”

Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA at SOFA CHICAGO 2003

For the second year in a row, Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA will present two one-person exhibitions of works by Dale Chihuly and Lino Tagliapietra, featuring over 30 works by each artist. Chihuly's works will include his newest series Mille Fiori, as well as other major installations and pedestal pieces. Dale Chihuly (American, b. 1941) is widely recognized as the world's premier glass artist and has been the subject of many books, critical essays and PBS specials. His glass sculpture can be found in over 150 major museums, including the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Louvre, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Whitney Museum.

Dale Chihuly Mille Fiori VIII (detail), 2004 Blown glass 84 x 144 x 96 photo: Jack Crane Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA

Jim Schantz of Holsten Galleries writes, “This year at SOFA CHICAGO, Holsten Galleries is very excited to present Dale Chihuly’s fantastic new series, Mille Fiori. Mille Fiori (Italian for ‘a thousand flowers’) incorporates many of the forms and techniques used by Chihuly and his team in outdoor exhibitions in Finland, Venice, Jerusalem and Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory. The forms include Reeds, flowers and stamens, Seal Pups, Pods and Floats. The series speaks of relationships ranging from Disney to Matisse to Hieronymus Bosch. This promises to be an exciting presentation this November.”

Lino Tagliapietra Bilbao, 2004 Blown glass 24.5 x 9.5 x 6.5 photo: Russell Johnson Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA

In addition, Holsten Galleries will also feature a second one person exhibition by Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, b. 1934) one of the world's finest artists working in glass, whom Dale Chihuly has referred to as "perhaps the world's greatest living glassblower." In 1979, the Italian glass maestro came to the United States to teach at Pilchuck School in Seattle, thus beginning a long history of sharing his centuries old technical knowledge with American glass artists. In the 1980's Lino was best known for the collaborative work he did with several American artists, including Dale Chihuly and Dan Dailey, represented at SOFA CHICAGO by Leo Kaplan Modern, New York. In the 1990's, Lino began to be widely recognized for his own unique works of art. At SOFA CHICAGO, Holsten Galleries will exhibit Tagliapietra's Masai series (wall installations) as well as works from on-going series such as Bilbao, Mandara and Dinosaur.

Tessa Clegg Apsides Box with mauve insert, 2003 Glass 16.75 x 12.25 x 4.75 photo: Philip Sayer Barrett Marsden Gallery, London

Barrett Marsden Gallery, London will premiere new work by Tessa Clegg, winner of UK’s prestigious Jerwood Award for Applied Arts, who uses the labor intensive, lost wax techniques of casting glass to produce strong sculptural pieces exploring the vessel form. Clegg will make a presentation in the SOFA Lecture Series.

Jitka Pokorna, Director, Galerie Pokorna, Prague, Czech Republic reports that they will present a rare drawing by the late Stanislav Libenský, who with his life partner, Jaroslava Brychtova, were perhaps the most influential Czech glass artists of the 20th c., producing some of the world's greatest cast glass and architectural glass works of art. Pokorna said the drawing is “one of the first Libenský made in large scale for 'studio scale.' Earlier in his career, he made drawings only for works in architecture as 'EXPOs.' This simple pencil drawing style is unusual and very unique compared to other work by Professor Libenský. The drawing was prepared for the sculpture Silhouettes of the Town, which was exhibited in 1988 at Clara Scremini Gallery in Paris."

Stanislav Libenský Silhouettes of the Town Pencil drawing Galerie Pokorna, Prague, Czech Republic	Petr Hora Deimos, 2004 Cast glass 17.7” H Habatat Galleries, Great Barrington, MA & Royal Oak, MI

Habatat Galleries, Gt. Barrington, MA and Royal Oak, MI will present new work by Czech artist, Petr Hora, who has achieved renown for works that fascinate the viewer with the exactness and precision of their execution, corresponding to their strict geometrical order such as spheres, hemispheres and cones. Critic Peter Nicki said, “A look into the core of Hora's glass world evokes the feeling that we are plunging into the colorful spiral nebulae of an endless universe.”

Stig Persson Wrap Dish, 2003 Glass 70 cm photo: Ole Akhøj Galleri Grønlund, Vaerloese, Denmark

Returning for the second year to SOFA CHICAGO, Galleri Grønlund, Vaerloese, Denmark premieres new work by acclaimed Danish glass artists, Stig Persson, Tobias Møhl, and Steffan Dam, who will make a presentation in the SOFA Lecture Series.

New to SOFA CHICAGO this year is Australian Contemporary, Adelaide, SA, Australia, a network of top organizations of Australia representing the professional decorative arts sector. Collette Snowden of Australian Contemporary is excited to bring new work by Benjamin Sewell: “Ben is one of Australia’s most creative young glass artists whose work is sought after for its exquisite proportions and high quality glass crafting. Ben creates free blown glass forms with carved surfaces to examine the concept of balance. His work has a powerful sense of space and luminosity, reflecting the impact of the external environment on the individual, internal journey of an artist who has traversed the vastness of Australia and been inspired by its astonishing variety and shifting light."

Benjamin Sewell Mound, 2004 Glass 16.8 x 9.4 x 3.5" photo : Larrry Irvin Australian Contemporary, Adelaide, SA, Australia	Scott Chaseling Whispering Cup, 2004 Fused and blown glass 16.5 x 9 x 9" Beaver Galleries, Deakin, Canberra, Australia

Martin Beaver, Director, Beaver Galleries, Deakin, Canberra, Australia will present new work by Scott Chaseling. Beaver said, "Renowned for his pioneering of the 'Roll-Up' technique that combines fusing and blowing, Scott Chaseling is recognized as one of the leading and most innovative glass artists in Australia. For some years, Scott has worked with vessel shaped objects and introduced into these elements of personal narrative using the drawn image. Whispering Cup represents a significant step forward in Scott's work as, in essence, the whole surface now becomes the narrative. By creating the image as a flat mosaic, then blending and blowing the form, Scott is able to realize a three-dimensional image that becomes the form, rather than being contained within one."

Fidler, Greg Mirror Bow Form, 2004 Blown Glass 24 x 14 x 8" WEISSPOLLACK, Black Rock, CT

David Pollack of WEISSPOLLACK Galleries, Black Rock, CT is excited about its premiere at SOFA of a new series of mirrored glass sculptures by Greg Fidler: “These forms are elegant and sensual, created by an emerging artist whose experience and education helps him create glass sculptures which express his need to understand the nature of glass, and the emotional response of humans to such imagery."

Cribbs, Ké Ké Yellow Tail, 1999 Reverse fired enamels on glass, steel, copper 27 x 24 x 8" Marx-Saunders Gallery, Ltd., Chicago, IL

Marx-Saunders Gallery, Chicago, IL presents new work by William Carlson, who will speak in the SOFA Lecture Series; and Kéké Cribbs, about whom critic and Curator at the Corning Museum of Glass, Tina Oldknow, writes: “The art of Kéké Cribbs takes place in a magical, other world of enchantment that is the domain of the fairy tale, the source of wonder and delight for all people, whether child or adult. Cribbs uses the enchanted realm as a point of departure for her narrative imagery, employing her boat, canteen and box containers as vehicles for personal journeys. She seems to have a direct connection to, or remembrance of, that fertile, semi-magical space that children can inhabit at will, which is the threshold of the dream, or unconscious."

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