The hiden alchemy of glass
Searching for alchemy in contemporary glass. Glass as a recipient for (al)chemical experiments and processes. Glass as a refined age-old material, a symbol of purity and vulnerability. Glass as a repository of philosophical theories which clarify or distort reality.
The artist is the modern alchemist, an illusionist who performs conjuring tricks with knowledge and imagination, a solitary practitioner of his or her profession, a seeker after the essence of things and the soul of the world.
In the exhibition ‘Anima Mundi, the hidden alchemy of glass’, guest curator Angela VAN DER BURGHT brought together the work of 14 artists in a carefully chosen assembly, drawn from the disciplines of design and figurative art, of works by artists from Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Italy and the United States.
The artists were invited to design a grail. They were asked to provide a personal interpretation or reproduction of the Holy Grail. To help them realize their respective works, the glass studio of the GLAZENHUIS and a team of glass workers were placed at their disposal. The results of this journey of discovery were presented in the exhibition, and will afterwards be housed in the collection of the Municipality of Lommel.
Once again, the GLAZENHUIS was showing glass in another context. In this exhibition, glass and alchemy were seen not from a historical standpoint but from a reactive, contemporary perspective.
Curator:
Angela VAN DER BURGHT (NL/BE)
Artists/designers:
Bert VAN LOO (NL), Lionel ESTÈVE (FR), Koen VANMECHELEN (BE), Barbara NANNING (NL), Rosalie BAK (NL), Richard MEITNER (US/NL), Andy PAIKO (US), Jan Fabre (BE), Ann Veronica JANSSENS (BE), Caroline PRISSE (BE/NL), Alena MATEJKOVA (CZ), Joan CROUS (IT), Peter LAYTON (GB), Leo COPERS (BE), Sunny VAN ZIJST (NL/BE)
