Narratives in Glass

Exhibition Website

Mar 24 2018 - Nov 4 2018

Palm Springs Art Museum

Palm Springs, CA

On view at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Kaplan-Ostergaard Glass Center

People have used depictions of the human form or parts of it, from the hand stencils found in cave paintings to the selfies of today, to tell stories, to communicate, and/or share a narrative.  Likewise, many artists working in glass have used the human form to share their individual story telling.

The exhibition is fortunate to have two small works by Nicolas Africano, although he does not think of his work as narrative, stating “the function of meaning in my art is as a verb; it seeks to express the desire for meaning by way of providing the occasion for it.”  With this in mind, the intent of this exhibition is to provide such an occasion for viewers to find their own meaning, to develop their own narratives about what they are seeing as well as learn the stories that the artists wish to share

The haunting cast glass piece Snow Girl by Sibylle Peretti will leave a lasting impact in contrast to the whimsical pieces of blown glass by Dan Dailey and Richard Jolley. The pâte de verre casting Spring Garland by Masayo Odahashi whose singular woman offers a stillness of contemplation that reflects on viewers to wonder. Other techniques of working in glass range from cast glass and kiln formed glass to the glass frit paintings of David Willis, the hot sculpted glass of Martin Janecky and Martin Blank to the reverse painted work by Cappy Thompson. Included are two pieces by American glass pioneers Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora Mace, who have work in the current glass exhibition. William Morris is represented by a stunning piece that displays his masterful skill in glass blowing. Clifford Rainey, classical approach to design and thought is present as are works by Bertil Vallien and Paul Marioni.

Six pieces for this exhibition are from the museum's permanent collection, 12 are from local collectors, 11 are from artists via their galleries and 2 pieces are direct from the artist themselves.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.         

  • Decorative Arts
  • International
  • Contemporary
  • Glass
  • Nicolas Africano
  • Sibylle Peretti
  • Dan Dailey
  • Richard Jolley
  • Masayo Odahashi
  • David Willis
  • Martin Janecky
  • Martin Blank
  • and others

Exhibition Venues & Dates