Michael Glancy and Maurice Marinot. November 4, 1999 through January 8, 2000

Transcription

1 Advance Exhibition Information For Immediate Release Michael Glancy and Maurice Marinot November 4, 1999 through January 8, 2000 Barry Friedman, Ltd. is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new work by artist Michael Glancy and the first American exhibition of rare objects by the seminal French studio glass artist Maurice Marinot ( ). Marinot is considered by glass scholars and artists alike as one of the most influential studio glass artists of the Twentieth Century, and is one of Michael Glancys chief inspiration and instrumental in the development of his work. A correlation of historical and contemporary work will be explored with these two exhibitions. Both will be on view from November 4, 1999 through January 8, Originally a painter, Maurice Marinot was affiliated with the french artists known as Les Fauves. Upon a visit to the Viard glassworks near his hometown of Troyes in 1911, he became fascinated with the nature of the medium. Michel Hoog, curator of the Marinot exhibition at the Musée de l Orangerie in 1990 recounts Marinot s first impressions, This visit to my friend s glassworks made me come upon glass in its living state. Mine was an enthusiasm and a violent desire for this new game. In a relatively short period of twenty-five years, he created approximately 2,500 exquisite objects, all unique, yet highly innovative. Michael Glancy s first observed glassblowing during a trip to Santa Fe while studying at the University of Denver. Noted critic and author Lisa Hammel explains how he was seduced by the magic of fire and the fast-paced drama of a molten blob transformed through skill and sweat a reaction akin to Marinot s first introduction to glass fifty years earlier. As Susanne Frantz, former curator of 20 th century glass at the Corning Museum explains in her book Contemporary Glass, [Marinot] created veiled effects by using an overall entrapment of minute air bubbles and dense powdered glass and metals. Trails of freely applied molten glass decorated the massive

2 shapes. Later the simple bold lines in his thick walled vessels, influenced by the art deco style, were deeply etched with acid. This process of lengthy and frequent immersions, his third period used hydrofluoric acid was to eventually contribute to his ill-health and eventual retirement from glass making. Glancy supervises the blowing of his vessels in Sweden, and like Marinot exploits and emphasizes the imperfections that occur during the blowing process; bubbles, inclusions and colored oxides decorate the inner walls of his vessels. Subsequently, he works the pieces cold in his studio in Massachussetts. The cold working of the piece allows him to fully express himself as Glancy explores the sculptural and decorative possibilities on the thick walled vessels surface by cutting and engraving, techniques pioneered by Marinot. Glancy explains, I was always attracted to Maurice Marinot s work for the depth of carving This resulted in his setting up an acid etching facility, using acid to carve deep patterns in glass but soon Glancy discovered that sandblasting the thick walls was a safer alternative to the successive dangerous immersions which pose a serious health hazard. Marinot s final period of glass making from 1926 to 1937 was characterized by heavy hot-sc ulpting and surface decoration. Marinot devised special tools created solely for the purpose of working the molten surface, as Peter Layton, glass artist and teacher of international repute, explains to create surface relief and thereby emphasize the optical qualities and visual interplay between the internal and external surfaces and volumes. Pieces made during this period were rich in texture, color and shape and were the culmination of his short glass career. After the second World War, the Viard glassworks had shut down and Marinot returned to painting, never to work with glass again In Greenish-brown acid cut Flacon, incorporates Marinot s sandwiching of green and brown oxides between thick walls and deep, heavy surface sculpting achieved through repeated acid baths. The physical weight of the piece is immediately evident, especially for such a relatively small object, measuring no less than 6 ½ inches tall and weighing 2.14 lbs.

3 This remarkable piece can be described today in the same way as Ami Chantre wrote of Marinot s oeuvre in 1920 in the magazine Art et Decoration: In spite of their bursts of radiance akin to precious stones, [Marinot s pieces] have a sort of rustic joie-de-vivre. Infinitely modern, they have a feeling of ancient trinkets, with the delicateness of things that are rare and fragile, and demonstrate, without appearing contradictory, a great sense of well-being, full of happiness, spontaneity and liveliness. Glancy, shares Marinot s passion for technical invention and bestows further radiance and texture to his surfaces by combining metal with glass through electroforming the sandblasted surfaces with copper a process used in jewellery which he adapted for glass. Electroforming involves the depositing or jacketing of copper ions on a surface using an electric bath. Plating the copper surfaces with gold or silver, and later altering through patination allows for added color and texture. The result is a precious jewel-like quality given to the otherwise more earthy glass. Noted glass expert Dan Klein has written," Glancy has established such an intimate relationship with his materials that he can dictate his will as he forms them. He thinks in metal, in glass and in the relation between the two. The pieces vibrate with his ideas. Like nature itself, which it emulates, his work can be appreciated as much for its inherent beauty as for the intellectual challenge it offers." [piece to come], 1999, incorporates Glancy s blown glass thick walled vessel, with oxide inclusions and a heavily carved surface. Blah, blah, blah.. Michael Glancy was born in Detroit in After attending the University of Denver and earning a Fine Arts degree, he went to study at the Rhode Island School of Design during what Glancy considers being the school s golden period under the tutelage of Dale Chihuly. Today, Glancy is an active faculty member at RISD where he teaches in the metals department. His work is in museums the world over, as well as in the United States. Mr. Marinot s work is represented in most major museums throughout Europe and the United States

4 For visuals and additional information, please contact: Carole Hochman or Dara Metz: 212/

5 Advance Exhibition Information For Immediate Release Michael Glancy and Maurice Marinot November 4, 1999 through January 8, 2000 Barry Friedman, Ltd. is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new work by artist Michael Glancy and a concurrent exhibition of rare objects by the seminal French studio glass artist Maurice Marinot ( ), Marinot, considered by museum curators and artists alike as one of the most influential studio glass artists of the Twentieth Century, was one of the chief inspirations for Glancy and instrumental in the development of Glancy s work. This will be the first American exhibition for objects of Maurice Marinot and Michael Glancy s second solo exhibition at Barry Friedman Ltd.. A correlation of historical and contemporary work will be explored with these exhibitions. Both exhibitions will be on view from November 4, 1999 through January 8, Originally a painter, Marinot was affiliated with the French artists known as Les Fauves he exhibited in the influential 1905 salon d Autumne in Paris. In 1911, upon a visit to the Viard glassworks near his hometown of Troyes, Marinot became enraptured with the nature of the medium. Michel Hoog, curator of the Marinot exhibition at the Musée de l Orangerie in 1990 recounts Marinot s first impressions: This visit to my friend s glassworks made me come upon glass in its living state. Mine was an enthusiasm and a violent desire for this new game. Marinot s glassworks can be subdivided into four series, each characterized by specific techniques: painted enamel, heavy wheel and acid engraving, inserted decorations and hot-sculpting. The first series was produced between 1911 and Marinot began decorating the surfaces of objects blown by the Viard glassmakers with surface enamel painting. In 1919 Marinot was no longer content to paint the work of others and began in earnest to blow his own pieces. At first, the pieces were smooth, but fascinated with engraving techniques, he learned to work the exterior surface with deep chisel and wheelcutting. He also experimented with colors and interior occlusions. In Greenish-brown acid cut Flacon, incorporates Marinot s sandwiching of green and brown oxides between thick walls and deep, heavy surface sculpting achieved through repeated acid baths. The physical weight of the piece is immediately evident, especially for such a small object, measuring no less than 6 ½ inches tall and weighing 2.14 lbs. This remarkable piece can be described today in the same way as Ami Chantre wrote of Marinot s oeuvre in 1920 in the magazine Art et Decoration: In spite of their bursts radiance akin to precious stones, [Marinot s pieces] have a sort of rustic joie-de-vivre. Infinitely modern, they have a feeling of ancient trinkets, with the delicateness of things

6 that are rare and fragile, and demonstrate, without appearing contradictory, a great sense of well-being, full of happiness, spontaneity and liveliness. Marinot s last period of glass making from 1926 to 1937 was characterized by heavy hotsculpting and surface decoration. Marinot devised special tools created solely for the purpose of working the molten surface, as Peter Layton explains to create surface relief and thereby emphasize the optical qualities and visual interplay between the internal and external surfaces and volumes. Pieces made during this period were rich in texture, color and shape and were the culmination of his short glass career. After the second World War, the Viard glassworks had shut down and Marinot returned to painting, never to work with glass again. In a relatively short period of twenty-five years, Marinot created approximately 2,500 objects, all unique, yet highly innovative. As Susanne Frantz explains in her book Contemporary Glass, He created veiled effects by using an overall entrapment of minute air bubbles and dense powdered glass and metals. Trails of freely applied molten glass decorated the massive shapes. Later the simple bold lines in his thick walled vessels, influenced by the art deco style, were deeply etched with acid. This process of lengthy and frequent immersions using hydrofluoric acid was to eventually contribute to his ill-health and eventual retirement from glass making. Michael Glancy was born in Detroit in After attending the University of Denver and earning a Fine Arts degree, he went to study at the Rhode Island School of Design during what Glancy considers being the school s golden period under the tutelage of Dale Chihuly. At RISD, Lisa Hammel explains how he was seduced by the magic of fire and the fast-paced drama of a molten blob but transformed through skill and sweat, but it was the subsequent cold working of the piece that allowed him to fully express himself. Emulating Marinot, Glancy exploited the imperfections that occur during the blowing process; bubbles, inclusions and colored oxides decorated the inner walls of his pieces. Soon Glancy began exploring sculptural and decorative possibilities on the thick walled vessels surface by cutting and engraving the pieces as Marinot had fifty years earlier. Michael explains, I was always attracted to Maurice Marinot s work for the depth of carving I was not that skilled as a hot glass worker. This resulted in his setting up an acid etching facility, using hydroflouric acid to carve deep patterns in glass. To achieve the depth of carving Marinot accomplished through successive dangerous immersions, Glancy soon utilized sandblasting to carve the thick walls and achieve a similar effect with less health danger. Subsequently, through friendships with jewellers and visits to the jewellery department at RISD, Glancy experimented with combining metal and glass and began electroforming the sandblasted surfaces with copper. Electroforming involves the depositing of copper ions on a surface using an electric bath. Plating the copper surfaces with gold or silver, and later altering through patination allowed for added color and texture. The result is a precious jewel-like quality given to the otherwise more earthy

7 glass. Today, Glancy supervises the blowing of his vessels in Sweden, and works the pieces cold in his studio in Massachussetts. Noted glass expert Dan Klein has written,"glancy has established such an intimate relationship with his materials that he can dictate his will as he forms them. He thinks in metal, in glass and in the relation between the two. The pieces vibrate with his ideas. Like nature itself, which it emulates, his work can be appreciated as much for its inherent beauty as for the intellectual challenge it offers." [Piece to come], 1999, incorporates Glancy s blown glass thick walled vessel, with oxide inclusions and a heavily carved geometric surface.

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