Divine Comedy 神曲 - Artist Statement
After 16 years of blowing glass, my first solo exhibition was a collection of 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 the exhibition were attempts at kamikyoku (神曲), which is Japanese slang for "incredible song." In English, 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 could be melodies by themselves; with others, it is the collected variety of form and color that could evoke something harmonious.
One can strive to be a great glassblower, but divine intervention cannot be ignored. Whether the glass becomes beautifully symmetrical, or becomes distorted by some type of mistake, the glass artist must have a comedic attitude towards failure. Flaws, blemishes, and imperfections 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)
After 16 years of blowing glass, my first solo exhibition was a collection of 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 the exhibition were attempts at kamikyoku (神曲), which is Japanese slang for "incredible song." In English, 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 could be melodies by themselves; with others, it is the collected variety of form and color that could evoke something harmonious.
One can strive to be a great glassblower, but divine intervention cannot be ignored. Whether the glass becomes beautifully symmetrical, or becomes distorted by some type of mistake, the glass artist must have a comedic attitude towards failure. Flaws, blemishes, and imperfections 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)