Beyond the Hot Shop:
Glass in a Digital Age

January 27 – Summer 2020

Viviano.MiningIndustriesDowntownSeattle_detail.jpg

Exhibition Overview

Since human beings first discovered how to make glass, it has been at the intersection of art and technology. Each innovation in glassmaking has expanded its possibilities as an artistic medium. Now, advancements in computing and manufacturing techniques are enabling artists to experiment with glass in ways they haven’t been able to before. Some artists are repurposing computer modeling, augmented reality, and 3-dimensional printing to push the technical boundaries of glass art. 

Artists who have access to these technologies (either through a university or by building it themselves) are able to experiment and create works of art impossible to create in a hot shop alone. As with all experiments, some are less successful than others, but artists still learn and grow from them, using what they have learned to experiment further.

Beyond the Hot Shop explores the way artists are using technology to push the boundaries of craftsmanship, to create art that would otherwise be time-consuming, challenging, or impossible.

Artists included are: Brandyn Callahan, Fred Kahl, Anna Mlasowsky, NoiseFold, Phirak Suon, Ethan Steinman, and Timea Tihanyi.

Featured Images

Image Credits

  1. Norwood Viviano (American, born 1972). Mining Industries: Downtown Seattle (detail)

  2. Norwood Viviano (American, born 1972). Mining Industries: Microsoft Corporation Headquarters, 2014. Rapid prototyped pattern kilncast glass; fabricated steel; 19 1/4 × 12 1/4 × 35 1/2 in. Collection of Museum of Glass, gift of the artist. Photo by Tim Thayer and Robert Hensleigh.

  3. Norwood Viviano (American, born 1972). Mining Industries: Microsoft Corporation Headquarters (detail)

  4. Norwood Viviano (American, born 1972). Mining Industries: Downtown Seattle, Made at the Museum in 2010. Rapid prototyped pattern kilncast glass; fabricated steel; 37 1/2 x 10 x 12 1/4 in. Collection of Museum of Glass, gift of the artist. Photo by Tim Thayer and Robert Hensleigh.

Exhibition Credit

Organized by Museum of Glass in partnership with University of Washington Museology Graduate program, Emerging Curator Initiative. Guest curated by Paquita Esterly.