Gallery hosts work of NZ glass artists
Jo Pervan calls herself a mixedmedia artist as she loves working with stone, paint and ceramics.
But it is her work with glass she enjoys the most, mainly because it’s ‘‘so addictive’’.
‘‘I did a little workshop about four years ago so I’m really new to working with glass.
‘‘With stone, you’re working with a solid object but with glass, it’s translucent, you can see right through it, so you can have an image on the outside and inside.’’
The Whitikahu artist’s glass work is among 50 pieces forming a national exhibition by New Zealand Society of Artists in Glass, on display at the Wallace Art Galley in Morrinsville.
The exhibition includes a range of different glass art techniques and was at the TSB Wallace Arts Centre in Auckland before coming to the Waikato.
‘‘You’ve got the best artists working in glass exhibiting here so this is massive to have the exhibition in Morrinsville, one of only two places in the country where people can see it.’’
Pervan said she and some of the artists were rostered to be at the gallery to show visitors around the exhibition.
‘‘We basically want to help people understand what is involved with the art, what processes there are to create the final pieces. Some people might see the price tag and think the artist has just plucked that figure out of the air.
‘‘But there’s a lot of work involved, some pieces may have been in the kiln for three days or more, and it’s good to be here to explain the process.’’
Pervan is familiar with most of the artists who have work in the exhibition and the methods they use. There are some techniques used by artists she’s new to, so the exhibition serves as an educational tool for her as well.
‘‘Some of the work here I’ve actually only ever seen online so it’s really cool to be able to see it in person.’’
Pervan’s own work at the gallery is called Float and is made using the ‘‘lost wax method’’. It involves casting glass using Gaffer lead crystal glass with a base made of Oamaru limestone.
‘‘Float is a stylised leaf form - Artist Jo Pervan speaks about some of the artists to feature in the exhibition, see the video online. the kind of leaf in autumn that has fallen from a tree and landed into a stream - floating off. Hopefully encouraging a quiet moment, a restful pause in our busy lives.
‘‘I love the light and the colour, it’s pretty neat with the translucency. I’m just really proud to have my work here with all these other pieces.’’
The exhibition will be at the Wallace Art Galley until December 11.