NEW ACQUISITIONS 2019

“I love images arising in me which describe situations or relationships. To bring them into the glass is joy. With the glass, the light and sometimes the inner touch.” This is how Heikko Schulze Höing describes his work with the artistic medium of glass. Last year we were able to acquire for our collection his multi-layered graal vase “Herz der Finsternis” (Heart of Darkness), which won first prize in the prestigious Immenhäuser Glaspreis 2019 awards. The shadowy cameo engraving is reminiscent of cut-out silhouettes, with a further dimension added by an inner motif of people fleeing. We were also impressed by the work that took third place, “Fadenwesen” (Thread Creatures) by Iris Haschek. Here, she masterfully pushes the pâte de verre technique to its limits: delicate azure-blue mushrooms grow up out of charred wood, evoking the eternal circle of life, death and rebirth.

Our quest for exciting glass art took us to some special events this past year. The British Glass Biennale 2019 in Stourbridge, for example, was a real highlight! We were able to acquire some fantastic works, including “Curled over” by Nina Casson McGarva. The young artist was born in England but grew up in rural Burgundy in France, so it is no wonder that natural phenomena in all their variety are her great inspiration. She says that “to me the material is most alive when it’s hot and being transformed. The end result is solid and doesn’t move any longer; it is at the fragile time before disintegration and maintains a dynamic form and rich structures such as dry leaves, feathers or sea shells.” Allister Malcolm’s vase object “Bubble-Wrap” also caught our interest with its distinct flair for design and flawless workmanship. Malcolm was inspired here while diving, observing underwater how the bubbles released with each breath ascend to the surface.

In the Netherlands we made another exciting discovery: Han de Kluijver, an architect who has also worked as a glass artist for many years. His efforts have now been crowned with success, as he was awarded first prize in the competition Glasplastik und Garten (Glass Sculpture and Garden) hosted by the City of Munster! Each one of his glass objects resembles an architectural creation: a fixed form in space. The work of the Japanese artist Masayo Odahashi is by contrast more sculptural. Her meditative figures, mostly young girls, seem to look inward, radiating a quiet strength, as if they could guide us to greater inner peace.

We present to you these and other fascinating new works in our first exhibition of 2020. Be prepared to make some delightful discoveries!

Photo above:

Iris Haschek, Fadenwesen, 2018 (Photo Iris Haschek)

 Photos:

Han de Kluijver, Mesocosm, 2010 (Photo Tomas Hilger)

László Lukácsí, FAN, 2019 (Photo Liza Lukácsí)

Masayo Odahashi, In my hands II, 2018 (Photo Galerie B)

Simone Fezer, Cell (Serie Organix), 2014 (Photo Simone Fezer)

Heikko Schulze Höing, Herz der Finsternis, 2019 (Photo Peter Hübbe)

Tomáš Brzoň, Shark, 2015 (Photo Jiří Koudelka)

Nina Casson McGarva, Curled over, 2019 (Photo Nina Casson McGarva)

Allister Malcolm, Bubble-Wrap, 2019 (Photo Simon Bruntnell)