H A B A T A T
G L A S S
4400 Fernlee Ave - Royal Oak Michigan
44th Glass International Awards Exhibition Saturday May 7th at 8:00 - 11:00 pm
44th International Glass Invitational Award Exhibition
Grand Opening: Saturday May 7th, 2016 at 8:00 - 11:00 pm Exhibition concludes July 22nd
Habatat Galleries emerged from the suburbs of Detroit to become one of the leading galleries focused on studio glass in the world. The 44th Glass International is the oldest and largest annual exhibition for art glass in the United States. To sustain a successful 44 year exhibition we must offer something new and interesting each year. This often increases the difficultly when choosing artists as well as events that make this show unique. The Glass International must also maintain its history of quality and remain relevant in the ever changing art glass world. This year we chose fourteen artists who have never exhibited at Habatat Galleries before. Some have been working for over three decades while others are just a few years out of graduate school. Whether emerged or emerging, this show is a fusion of artists who all share an exploration of expression through glass. Eight years ago we added a jury process to the exhibit that would strengthen the participating artist’s desire to send in what they felt was their very best work. The jury has typically been made up of art historians, museum directors, noted collectors and art critics. One artist is chosen by the attendees of opening night. “The People Choice” award will be given to the artist who receives the most votes by the public during the Grand Opening. This artist’s work will be included with the other twenty-four works chosen by the invited jurors in a museum presentation at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Fort Wayne Indiana. Over the years we have asked questions to the artists participating in this exhibition. This year we asked the question: “What affected you in your life or career that caused you to alter the direction of your work?” We left this question open to possibly include many ideas such as a personal discovery, a news story or a life changing event. The responses we received ranged from deep personal exploration to headlines in the newspapers. Please take a moment and read each journey that these participants have taken. This will give you an insight into the life and work of each artist. Concurrent with Habatat Galleries Glass International we have curated a controversial display in a pop-up space across from the gallery entitled: Peace/Piece: Sculptures of Mass Destruction. In 2015 there were 53,173 recorded incidents in the United States involving guns. Most recently, six random people were killed in a mass shooting where I attended college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As horrifying as this incident was the “Kalamazoo killing” was only 1 of 330 mass shootings in the United States over the past 13 months. This exhibition will include the work of twenty insightful artists who created work based on their interpretation of gn violence in the United States. Nearly fifty-five years ago, artists experimented with glass to see if it was a viable material to create with. At the time these pioneers were exposed to ceramics, bronzes, oils and canvas and often times would remain anonymous by leaving their experimental glass works unsigned. They simply were unaware that studio glass would have a following that would continue for over five decades. This annual exhibition was created to promote artists who were working with glass and had no place to go. We are very proud of what the Glass International has become and excited for the future of studio glass! We hope you will participate in our journey and join us for the opening! Corey Hampson Habatat Galleries
H A B ATAT G A L L E R I E S
4400 Fernlee Ave - Royal Oak Michigan
Call for VIP Invite & Auction Catalogue Grand Opening in Royal Oak, Michigan
The terrorist attacks on 9/11 affected more than the lives of those in the targeted cities. Like a rock thrown in a pond, its impact rippled out until all the water was roiled. Up until that point I had been living a comfortable life as an architect - for 10 years in Chicago, Illinois and 10 years in Brisbane, Australia. I once dreamed of being an artist but I settled for the safer routine. Both my wife and I chose to see the terrible events as a spiritual message to change the direction of our lives. We left our jobs and home in Australia and moved to Washington, DC to refocus on our passions. Arriving in the United States the prospect of changing from architect to glass artist required the discipline of learning all aspects of glass art. I became a teacher at the Washington Glass School, and in 2005 became a Co-Director. I sought to feel connected to others by channeling my thoughts into meaningful creative work. My artwork began a shift from technique-oriented towards a more narrative-driven direction. One of my narrative works, “The Tower”, based on the traditional imagery of Tarot Cards, was selected to be in Corning Museum of Glass’ New Glass Review – a selection 100 important works in glass. Tina Oldknow, then the Curator of Modern Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass wrote about my work: …“a truly big and dangerous event is depicted in Janis’s “The Tower” Tarot Card. Anyone familiar with the tarot knows the tower, the 16th card of the major arcana, does not bring glad tidings. I was impressed by Janis’s powerful, sad and appropriate interpretation of this card as a literal reflection of the tragic events of September 11, 2001.”…Following my dream allowed me to find a new perspective; to be more accepting of the present moment and be engaged and positive for the future. - Michael Janis, 2016
M i c h a el J a n is Ta k i n g F l i g h t , 2 0 1 6 36 x 23 x 5" C a s t a n d f u s e d g la s s g l a ss pow d e r , s t e e l
When I was 15 years old, my father decided that I become a glassmaker. At that time I did not know what to expect. I knew nothing about glass. I perceived glass only as a window panel or as a bottle of lemonade. After the first week I spent at the glass furnace, I could not imagine that this craft - working glass – would become my entire life. The magic power of molten mass would consume me. I learned to blow drinking glass and goblets; and I desired to control this hot matter even more. That opportunity delevoped at the High School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking with professor Pavel Jezek. Here, I switched from the "cups" into hand shaped glass directly at the furnace. It was Pavel Jezek who advised me to start at a small glassfactory in Škrdlovice. The first person I met there was Frantisek Vizner. During the first handshake, I had no idea how crucial this fateful moment would be for my career. Frantisek has became my friend, mentor, teacher and life pattern. Next to him, I learned how to model glass by cutting, grinding and polishing. After leaving the glassworks in Škrdlovice I built my own glass studio. This change opened up some additional possibilities for my career – my own cast and cut glass sculptures. My previous life and career is not about substantial and fundamental changes. I am grateful to my dad for his early decision about my life and my future focus. For more than 50 years I have been humbly devoted to working with glass and the recent developments I considered as normal, logical and natural. - Petr Hora, 2016
Pet er H or a Rossa, 2016 20 x 20 x 20" C a s t gl a s s
An Old Man’s Meditation on Expression. I took a year off flame-working for medical reasons and came back to work at the torch with a different attitude. Now, working with hot glass is a Blessing. I feel a heightened sense of gratitude knowing that at age 73 the process is still teaching me ways to express my feelings. As I coax the end of the melted rod with tweezers the botanical component is shaped as a prayer in search of expression. What at times was mundane repetition now is a narrow path opening onto a visual language. The more personal my response to interpreting nature the more visually accessible it becomes. - Paul Stankard, 2016
Paul St ankard M e d i t a t i o n o n t h e H e a l i n g Vi r t u e s o f t h e Pl a n t K i n g d o m , 2016 4 x 4 x 4” Fl amed worked gl ass
In the years 1980 to 1995 I lived a very varied life. I wrote music, worked with my favorite material glass, travelled the world and participated in my friends' projects. These widely spread interests required my total attention and my creative potential. These activities brought in a very modest income so that, when a window of opportunity presented itself for me to develop personal projects, I often needed to stop in order to ensure I had enough income to make ends meet. To work continuously on a concept or an idea over a longer period of time was hardly possible. The works created during this period were often crude and I stopped focusing when I probably should have developed them further. Changes of material and technique often allowed me to look back on well intentioned, but ultimately unsatisfactory work. Mid to late 1990s I saw the absolute necessity of developing a new working principle for myself. Essentially, it consisted of my deciding how to meaningfully channel and concentrate my potential. I recognized the importance of deďŹ ning phases in developing an idea in order to avoid dissipation and distraction. To postpone the interesting and thrilling topic of music and to put the time that I invested in studio work and preparing for concerts into my work with glass. To restrict to set periods other unrelated paid work. Turn down work. All this, coupled with a recollection of my time as a glass and porcelain painter (my roots), the fascination with three dimensionality, coupled with transparency in my work, led me to a new interpretation of glass painting. - Wilfried Grootens, 2016
Wi l fri e d G r o o t e n s W . T. S . B . B . H 1 2 , 2 0 1 6 8.25 x 8.5 x 8.25" O p t i oa t , p a in t e d , la m i n a t ed a n d p o lis h e d g las s
The “Insight” that altered the direction my life took was not my insight. It was the insight of my 10th grade art teacher, Mr. Osterholt. He had the insight to take me from getting beat up on & off the P.E. field to a small private studio in the rear of the art building & giving me free reign (and materials) to create, to draw, paint & sculpt in peace. Thank you Mr. Osterholt… - Stephen Clements, 2016 Everything changed 8 years ago when my younger sister died from cancer. This was for me, as it is for all that sustain a deep cellular loss, a defining moment that changed me. I could not make work for a year and had not one single idea. But slowly as I contemplated my grief, I found a metaphor for that feeling of being leveled by an unpredictable and unimaginable event. I thought a lot about that split second, when invisibly, all is changed and for me the wind became the metaphor. It is that invisible force that can wreak havoc in an instant. It's that crazy dust devil that leaves you disheveled and sends your hat tumbling down the road. Conversely it is that cool breeze that provides relief and clears the stagnant air. I made a first small series of Wind pieces that pitted my sister and I against the wind. They were painful and beautiful for me to make and helped to get me back to work. Subsequent work keeps referring to that time, though it may not be immediately obvious. From the initial fight against the storm, Steve and I moved into thinking about the way we came together to manage our grief and support each other. We try to have strength in the wind by relying on each other. On a Precipice together, the force of the wind is diminished. The power of and vulnerability to an unseen force, the strength to stand up to it, a search for support and safe harbor in the storm, hope for a lucky breeze, and strength through connection are the characteristics we try to imbue into each sculpture. - Leah Wingfield, 2016
L e a h Wi n g fi e l d & Steven Clements Precipice 3, 2016 41 x 15 x 8" Cast gl ass & Cl aro Wal nut
The talent of creation resembles the movement of water. The surface is easily disturbed by a tiniest leaf, although, in the long-term, it may slice through the hardest rocks. I spend my childhood near a small brook, in a mountainous village, at the center of Europe. This riverbank used to be my playground. I would spend my time gazing into the water for hours and occupying my time by tossing twigs and branches to see the effect. That water then runs out to the Black Sea and to the Ocean. It then takes a few weeks to run around the Globe. This water, which had shared this personal time with me, circulates globally again and again for billions of years. My divine inspiration takes a similar path. It is a gift that all those who created experience. Once an idea was born it travels a unique path that our teachers and ancestors experienced in a similar manner. Our personal experiences and errors make it human and our own. This makes it unique and colorful. It is then achieved through endless patience and physical-spiritual endurance. Working with glass is an extremely exciting experience while participating in prestigious exhibitions warrants responsibility. It is challenging to maintain the playfulness of my youth while meeting the deadlines required when creating my works. It is important to me that I enjoy the process of creating mixed with the experience of my youth. I ask the almighty for strength and health and to be able to continue my work as long as possible. - Péter Borkovics, 2016
Péter Bor kovic s Genesis, 2016 15.5 x 1 5 . 5 x 3 . 5 " Kil n -fu se d g la s s
My father, Orville Chatt, was an artist and educator in a small community north of Seattle where I grew up. He and many others encouraged my young creative life. I spent my childhood experimenting with a variety of materials but even with such strong role models, I did not consider art as a vocation until my early twenties. I have always been a maker but had not yet focused on any particular medium or vision. There was one object that changed everything. I had it in mind to embellish the back of a jacket I found in Vancouver BC’s international district, and collected tiny glass beads for that purpose. As I worked, I learned it was harder than I thought. To accommodate my lack of skill I began sewing beads on top of beads until the jacket became thick with the weight of the glass and too heavy to wear but the process of figuring out a way around my shortcomings and my delight in the thick layers of glass on top of glass interested me. I had found my own way and it was exciting. Spurred on by a sense of discovery, I kept working and invented ways to make structure, form and eventually to tell stories with these tiny bits of glass. Perhaps this affinity was inspired by the Native American beadwork I grew up with, or from the hours I spent as a child playing with Legos but somehow my mathematical inclinations, love of story telling, and attraction to this laborious meditative process led me to this place. It was during this time I went to see a show that Northwest artist and bead historian Ramona Solberg mounted at the Bellevue Arts Museum. The Ubiquitous Bead collected beads and beadwork from around the globe and from various periods in history. Beads have existed nearly as long as humans and have been used by every anthropological group. I am fascinated by this history, and also fascinated that even in this well explored territory there is so much opportunity to discover. The one thing that was underrepresented in this show was contemporary beadwork that was not inspired by a particular ethnic tradition. This sparked my curiosity and illuminated an opportunity. Thus began an obsession. I set out to discover as much as I could and to make art that reflects my time and my experience in the peculiar world I inhabit. This has become my life’s work. The pieces I have chosen for this show, 1982 and If She Knew You Were Coming… are, the most significant of my career to date. They are evidence of an obsessive desire to learn, discover, preserver and to share my journey. They represent latest incarnation of the fascination I felt some thirty-plus years ago when struggling to sew beads onto the back of an old jacket. - David Chatt, 2016
Davi d Chatt 1 9 8 2 , 2015 45 x 30 x 12" (t ab l e si ze) Swen gl ass b eads over found ob j ect
One lucky day, sometime around the turn of the new millennium, I walked into Garth Clark’s Gallery on West 57th Street to see Akio Takemori’s sculptures. I knew then, though I wasn’t sure quite how, that viewing that exhibition would change my life. At the time, I was living in New York and working as a fashion designer for Jones, New York, a very large, very corporate, not very creative, clothing manufacturer. Several years earlier, I had had to sell my own design firm because small fashion companies could no longer compete against the large corporations swallowing up all the smaller fish. To satisfy my creative needs, I began playing around with ceramics, casting plates and bowls and cups and painting intricate Chinese scenes and people on them. Perhaps my interest in ceramics is what took me to Akio Takemori’s exhibition that day. From the moment I saw Akio's pieces, I was hooked. I was literally transfixed by his work. The exhibition consisted of a dozen ceramic figures, about two or three feet in height, of the people he remembered from the Japanese village he had lived in as a child. I had never seen anything like them. My embrace of Akio’s work made me want to do what he did, to become a sculptor, to create my own figurative pieces. But for several years, I continued my career as a designer, longing to change my career, to do something else, to become a sculptor. But what a major step to take. How does one do that? Luckily for me, my husband encouraged me to take a giant leap, to quit my job and become a sculptor. For a while, I stayed in New York, taking design and anatomy classes. But soon, in 2007, my husband and I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida so that I could become an artist. I needed space, I needed kilns and I needed sunshine. I started by learning basic techniques in sculpting clay and casting glass. And then I began to sculpt, first American children, Ragamuffins, I called them. Then I moved on to Chinese and Japanese courtiers and children. By 2009, I had enough work to have my first collection shown by the Stewart Fine Art Gallery in Boca Raton, Florida. My work was popular and, three years later, I was invited to join Habatat Galleries. Since then, I have been creating sculptures as quickly as humanly possible – and having a wonderful life doing so. Akio Takemori’s early work had a tremendous influence on me. I think I will send him this catalogue. He would probably enjoy reading this. Thank you Akio!! - Vivian Wang, 2016
Vi vi an Wang K i m o n o B o y , 2016 26 x 11 x 8" Cast gl ass and st oneware, gem st ones, st eel b ase
The births of our two children were undoubtedly defining moments in our lives; having children changes everything, but it was the birth of Florence Lorente that was a pivotal point in our artistic careers. As artists we worked alongside one another for years, ten years actually. We co-owned a business, helped each other with projects, and started a family. We taught each other new glass blowing tricks and shared many experiences. The work we were making had similar concept, subject, and technique. At some point in 2010 we decided to make a sculpture together to see what would happen. With two of us invested in one idea we were able to challenge, complement, and inspire each other. Our competitiveness and strong will only brought us to make better work. We were inspired by the experience and decide to make more. Florence Lorente is the fictitious artist comprised of both of us. Florence was Robin’s grandmother’s first name and Lorente was Julia’s grandmother’s maiden name. For a moment we considered making work under that name and signing it “F. Lorente.” Although we decided to create a monogram of our own initials to sign the work, internally we still refer to Florence Lorente. The collaboration continues at home, becoming parents moved our work in new directions. We reflected on creation, birth, and our own childhood. Through our children’s eyes we became more aware of the world around us. A new passion developed on the importance of raising healthy children in a society that seems to continually move away from nature into a world of greater technology and indulgent consumerism. - Julia and Robin Rogers, 2016
Jul i a and Rob i n Rogers R a b b i t M o t h e r , 2016 23 x 12 x 12" Bl own and fl ame worked gl ass, si l ver l eaf
PEACE / PIECE: Sculptures of Mass Destruction
As long as humans have been on the planet, they have made weapons. And as long as humans have made weapons, they have made art. Human weapons have always had an element of art in them. The question is why? Why make an object designed to kill beautiful? I believe it says something profound about what it means to be human. Could it be that humankind’s historic propensity for conict is balanced by an equal propensity to art and beauty? Could it be that these two propensities are as inseparable as the two sides of a coin? Could it be that this conjoining of seeming opposites is one of the most profound ways in which humans can state what it means to be human? - Robert Mickelsen, 2016
R ober t M ic k e ls e n B y A n y O t h e r N a m e ( We a p o n s o f P i e c e ) , 2014 ( H ot c h ki s s M 1 9 1 4 5 0 % s c a le r ep lica) 21 x 3 4 x 21 " L a m p work e d b o r o s ilic a t e g las s
PEACE / PIECE: Sculptures of Mass Destruction
The Gun Eater, (Appetite for Destruction) stems from our inability to solve gun control in the United States. Specifically, school shootings. This is a portrait of a mother who has decided to consume all the guns brought to her in order to protect her children. Feeling completely powerless, the figure has chosen an illogical solution to a problem that she feels she has no control over. This piece is not “pro” or “anti-gun” as it represents the stalemate we are all currently experiencing in the United States concerning gun violence. We seem to have no answers on how to stop this destruction and we sit idly by and wait for the next mass shooting. - Carmen Lozar , 2016
Carmen Lozar G u n E a t e r , 2015 6 x 7 x 13" Gl ass and wood
PEACE / PIECE: Sculptures of Mass Destruction
I made the piece, Season, in response to hunting season which is a giant deal around where I live. I prefer deer alive, as opposed to strapped on the back of pickup trucks. I was feeling particularly anxious about the blue eyed albino deer that I saw every day on my drive to my daughter Sophie's horseback lesson. After this last Doe season I never saw her again and I feared the worst. I discovered recently (six months after deer season) as Robert was driving Ellis home from baseball practice; they both saw HER, my albino deer. This has made me feel so happy and relieved! It was a miracle! – Christina Bothwell, 2016
Ch r i s t i n a B o t h we ll Season, 2016 9 x 12 x 5" Ca st gl a ss a n d c e r a m ic
PEACE / PIECE: Sculptures of Mass Destruction
“We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.” (1984) When a police officer kills an unarmed black person and the victim is criminalized, there is a problem. Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, ... – John Moran, 2016
John Moran W h e n R e a s o n F a i l s , 2016 35 x 14 x 24" Hot scul pt ed gl ass, epoxy resi n, fab ri c, met al , l at ex, gol d pai nt
HABATAT GALLERIES 4400 Fernlee Ave., Royal Oak, MI 48073
248.554.0590 | info@habatat.com w w w . h a b a t a t . c o m
STA N I Local Hero - Ranger, 2016 21 x 2 6 x 2 0 " B l own a n d K iln c a s t g la s s w ood, br on z e , c o p p e r , s t e e l