Friday, August 20, 2010

MATTHEW CUMMINGS - figurative glass sculpture

In my work, I am attempting to capture the essence of human movement (gesture) through minimal, abstract forms. While always interested in the human figure, I was inspired by a summer trip to Italy where I studied and sketched sculptures of the High Renaissance and Baroque period. I was particularly moved by the sculptures of Giambologna and Bernini. I was drawn to the tension created by their sculptural groups and the curves of the human figure.

While my first explorations of the human figure were realistic, I have chosen a more abstract and minimal approach in order to focus the viewers attention on the human gestures presented. Besides concentrating on the form of a single figure, I am challenged by relating figures to one another. When I am in the glass studio, I am trying to create very specific forms, while expecting a more ambiguous reaction from the viewer. I welcome different interpretations of these sculptures by the viewers. I have begun more and more to view my work as being removed from the human figure and directed towards representations of pure form, movement, and gesture. MORE

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Toshio Iezumi - clean and simple ... beautiful!



BORN
1954 Born, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

EDUCATION
1985 Tokyo Glass Art Institute, Japan, Graduation

PROFESSIONAL
Current Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts, Japan, Associate professor
1988 Novy Bor, Czech Republic, International Glass Symposium
1987 Hokkaido, Japan, SCF Glass Workshop

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California USA
Real Fabrica de Cristales la Granja, Spain
Suntory Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Art, Tochigi, Japan
Notojima Glass Art Museum, Ishikawa, Japan
Ashikaga Museum of Art Tochigi, Japan
Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Japan
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Ishikawa, Japan
Koganezaki Glass Museum Shizuoka, Japan
United Airlines