Divine Comedy 神曲 - Artist Statement
This solo exhibition is a collection of blown glass vases, goblets, cups, and sculpture, mostly made in Okinawa in 2024. Many of these vessel works were made offhand, with little or no premeditated thought into their shape or purpose. Some have a straightforward form and function: a cup to enjoy a good beer, or a vase to propagate a plant. The more original works are from my ongoing object series. Their uniqueness blurs the boundary between vessel and sculpture.
Compositions of the objects in this exhibition are attempts at “incredible songs,” as the Japanese slang kamikyoku (神曲) is used. In America, the slang equivalent would be to call a good song a “banger.” For the art of glassblowing, technical practice often meets harsh execution. But every now and then, an object is made that exceeds expectations. Some of the glass works displayed can be melodies by themselves; with other works, it is the collected variety of form and color that can evoke something harmonious.
One can strive to be a great glassblower, but divine intervention cannot be ignored. Whether the glass (rarely) becomes beautifully symmetrical, or (commonly) becomes distorted by some type of imperfection, the glass artist must have a comedic attitude towards failure. Flaws, blemishes, and mistakes are out to get us! But so is a little bit of luck, so embrace the happy accidents in the pursuit of perfect technique.
“You’re resonating higher than the song that’s playing.”
-“Divine Comedy” by Deerhoof, from their album Actually, You Can (2021)
“The more a thing is perfect, the more it feels pleasure and pain.”
-Dante Alighieri, La Commedia: Inferno (1321)
This solo exhibition is a collection of blown glass vases, goblets, cups, and sculpture, mostly made in Okinawa in 2024. Many of these vessel works were made offhand, with little or no premeditated thought into their shape or purpose. Some have a straightforward form and function: a cup to enjoy a good beer, or a vase to propagate a plant. The more original works are from my ongoing object series. Their uniqueness blurs the boundary between vessel and sculpture.
Compositions of the objects in this exhibition are attempts at “incredible songs,” as the Japanese slang kamikyoku (神曲) is used. In America, the slang equivalent would be to call a good song a “banger.” For the art of glassblowing, technical practice often meets harsh execution. But every now and then, an object is made that exceeds expectations. Some of the glass works displayed can be melodies by themselves; with other works, it is the collected variety of form and color that can evoke something harmonious.
One can strive to be a great glassblower, but divine intervention cannot be ignored. Whether the glass (rarely) becomes beautifully symmetrical, or (commonly) becomes distorted by some type of imperfection, the glass artist must have a comedic attitude towards failure. Flaws, blemishes, and mistakes are out to get us! But so is a little bit of luck, so embrace the happy accidents in the pursuit of perfect technique.
“You’re resonating higher than the song that’s playing.”
-“Divine Comedy” by Deerhoof, from their album Actually, You Can (2021)
“The more a thing is perfect, the more it feels pleasure and pain.”
-Dante Alighieri, La Commedia: Inferno (1321)