Following a long, ascending road up the side of a mountain eventually leads to the campus of the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester. Along the way, one finds installations of outdoor sculptures peppered amidst the trees and vast grassy meadows surrounding the complex. Getting out of the car, one feels instantly to be in a very welcoming place, buildings very accessible, and walking trails within easy reach.
The 120 acres of land houses several buildings: The Yester House is the main building, built in 1917 as a private estate of the Webster family. It was bought by the Southern Vermont Artists in 1950, a mansion with endless rooms devoted to rotating exhibitions, including the iconic Solo Exhibition program. The Elizabeth De C. Wilson Museum is relatively new, having been built in 2000, a contemporary space which not only features rotating exhibitions, but also houses the Permanent Collection. It’s currently hosting the Vermont Glass Guild’s comprehensive exhibition, “Sand to Splendor: The Nature of Glass,” until September 22.
Founded in 2010, The Vermont Glass Guild is comprised of glass artists from all over the state. This extensive glass community provides resources, information, education and opportunity for its members and for the visitors and admirers that they have attracted to their many shows and events.
The show at the Southern Vermont Art Center showcases the eclectic variety found among the Vermont Glass Guild members, and of glassmaking itself, from functional ware to purely aesthetic exploration.
Natural elements are the focus in the many works in this show, which creates a dynamic tension between the actual act of glassmaking with the subjects’ proclivity. Among the many offerings in this show, some stood out as illustrating the intention of the curation.
An eye-catching piece by a collaboration between Sally Prasch and George Kennard called “Reflecting” is what appears at first glance to be a blue bowl. The bowl itself, made by Kennard, is very attractive due to its shape and the deep, saturated all-encompassing color. Upon closer regard one finds delicate glass flower forms added by Prasch, seemingly swimming on the surface. This piece is a delight, and is well lit, accentuating the delicate nuances; it is at once very fragile and sustainably strong.
Josh Bernbaum’s “Sonoran (Blue/Black) is an eccentric blown glass piece resembling a sea anemone or some other type of sea creature, with its young growing on its back. The intricacy of the flower-like forms and the textural component of the main shape yield surprising juxtapositions, and reflect the vast possibilities present in this medium.
Jen Violett’s “Potted Plants (set of 3)” is made from a combination of blown and hot sculpted glass. The forms are simple and minimalistic, and it is difficult to take one’s eyes off the alluring forms, punctuated by an almost velvet surface texture, in pure shades of black and green. The plant forms rising out of the pots are graceful and elegant, yet endowed with a humorous wink of the eye, and are lush and tactile.
In a very similar vein in terms of elegance and flow is a work by David Leppla, entitled “Twisted Pods”. This piece is comprised of both glass and copper, flower-like forms emerging from twists of stems, hanging on the wall as if to dry. The earthy forms suggest that which goes beyond the visual; one can almost smell the earthen aroma that comes from decaying and drying things springing from their once fruitful summer explosive lives.
A good amount of space is dedicated to Bob Dane’s animals sculpted from hot glass. These humorous and playful creatures are a wonder, and a testament to how far the medium of glass can be pushed in unexpected ways. Dane’s “Elephant” recalls ancient carvings and wall drawings, a stylized assemblage of parts. The head of the elephant sits on the wall, but more as a receptacle of adoration than a trophy.
“Ancient” by Jeremy Sinkus is a conglomeration of many different methods of glasswork, stone and steel, molding ammonite fossils. The glass seems to replace what would be the encasement of amber in the natural world, and consciously glorifies the beauty of the animal’s timelessness in its shape and form.
There are many other works and artists in this exhibition, all of whom, in their practice, represent a myriad of techniques and approaches to glass work. Glass remains a discipline of mystery and alchemical wizardry. “Sand to Splendor: The Nature of Glass” is a branch of a tree, an ancient discipline with generations of ancestral practitioners. This strong exhibition brings this lineage to the present and is far-reaching in its accessibility.
(“Sand to Splendor: The Nature of Glass,” remains on view through September 22 at the Southern Vermont Arts Center, 860 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive, Manchester, Vermont. The SVAC is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For information on admission cost and other events and onsite activities, visit svac.org.)