"This is one of the most exciting works I've come across in Penland's auction catalog. It captivates on so many levels. First, it playfully pays homage to the tradition of the still life. Second, it marries material and subject in a meaningful, conceptually interesting way. And third, it's brave!   

"Beth Lipman's knowledge of still life is rich and extensive. Especially lively in her work are the spirits of Pieter Claesz and Willem Heda, two of the great 17th century Dutch masters of the banquet table still life in which vast presentations of foods, serving vessels, glassware, and wine are displayed in all their appetizing glory. In the Dutch paintings, of course, every effort was made to reflect the particular textures, colors, and individuality of each surface. Pewter, glass, oyster shells, and lemon peels vibrate with tantalizing realism. Reflective surfaces of glass goblets and polished knives mirror the sumptuous surroundings of prosperous burghers in whose homes the paintings hung. These are works that, unlike their somber still life cousin, the vanitas, celebrate the here and now. No skulls, just-snuffed candles, or resting lutes weigh down these festive scenes of tankards, silver drinking bowls, turkey pies, and other exotic delicacies. Indeed, they seem to encourage us to revel in the abundance - there's too little time to enjoy it!

"By using clear glass to pay tribute to her still life forebears, Lipman does something very interesting. She takes a subject that resonates with layered meanings - transience, human pleasures and appetites, the social values we attach to food and its display - and melds it with the associations and properties of glass: fragile, beautiful, both natural and man-made. As a metaphor for the transience of life, the act of making glass is apt. Glass blowing, like still life painting, captures a precise moment in time - indeed, freezes it in the very second that the temperature is allowed to fall. Hence the frequent imperfections, deviations, and even blatant failures that can result from firing. 

"Beth Lipman likes to say that she's a "bad glass blower," but the fact is, she's just not that interested in perfect technique. In many of her works, the failures are incorporated into the final product. Her work is more about the moment, and whether that moment is captured in a perfectly blown vessel, a molten mass, or a shattered fragment, is of little consequence. In Lipman's Still Life with Bowl of Bananas, we get freedom from perfection, an embrace of the spontaneous, and the bravery involved in accepting failures. Here, too, we're urged to seize the day."

                                                                         - Sarah Lee Elson

"We are honored to have one of Martin Janecky's stunning glass sculptures from his new Heroes series in this year's auction.

"Martin has been working with glass since he was a boy. Born in Liberec in the Czech Republic in 1980, he began working in his father's glass factory at 13, and by the time he was 21 he was working with many of the top glass artists in the world. He first came to the U.S. in 2003 as a demonstration artist at the famed Corning Museum of Glass, and since then has taught and demonstrated his skills at the most prestigious venues in our country. He was a visiting artist at Bowling Green University in 2004 and 2006, and a demonstrating artist at Miami University School of Fine Arts in Ohio, and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington in 2005. In 2006 he worked with Preston Singletary in Seattle, Washington and was an assistant to William Morris at Pilchuck Glass School in 2006 and 2007. He has won numerous awards including the Kaiser Foundation Award and the Salvador Dali World Prize for significant accomplishments in the field of fine arts presented by the Union of Art in Brussels. 

"Penland has been most fortunate to have Martin as an instructor in 2006, in 2007 for an 8 week concentration, 2008, and again as a concentration instructor in 2009 and 2012. His classes are much sought after by accomplished glass students. When he teaches at Penland, not only his students but visitors and students taking classes in other media get to enjoy watching Martin craft one of his complex and technically challenging sculptures over a three or four hour period. It is a memorable experience for any collector of craft! 

"Martin is a master at sculpting in hot glass. His works include numerous intricate musical instruments in glass, clowns including The Juggler, Joker, and the French Clown, masks, and expressive heads. Martin's new Heroes series exhibits the full range of his extraordinary skills with hot glass. Our auction piece is from the Heroes series and represents Martin's most recent works. As you can see, the torso, arms and hands and the expressive face are truly remarkable, particularly in glass. It is easy to understand why Martin has become a much sought after artist, particularly by the new wave of young glass collectors. This is a work that any craft collector will be proud to own."

                                                                          - Glen Hardymon 

Daniel Clayman, Tonal Shift, cast glass, 23-1/2 x 23-1/2 x 23 in.

 

What I learned while installing a piece by Daniel Clayman: 

"Last year, while we were putting together the 26th Annual Benefit Auction Catalog, Robin Dreyer and I found ourselves installing Two Objects, Daniel Clayman's work in that auction, in order to take this picture:


"It looks a bit precarious, doesn't it? (We didn't Photoshop out any wires or additional supports, I promise.) Robin and I are both pretty handy, and I have a background in art handling and installation, but I'm not ashamed to tell you that I was nervous. Two tall, heavy cones, one of cast glass, the other copper, the larger end at the top, balancing on point, leaning into two tiny wall-mounted brackets? Yikes! But when we opened the crate in which Clayman had sent the piece, we discovered a detailed installation diagram on the inside of the lid. Following his instructions, we found assembling the striking piece above to be straightforward and uncomplicated, and were especially surprised and impressed to discover that once set up, Two Objects was sturdy and stable, a bit of an engineering marvel as well as a beautiful formal study.

"Daniel Clayman is one of those rare artists who really thinks deeply about his artworks on every level, from appearance to structure, shipping to assembly to safety. I've seen it (and felt it with my hands) in the exquisitely-rendered, perfectly austere forms, subtly rich surfaces, and sensitivity to the play of light and color on and through materials that characterize his sculptures. Take a close look yourself at Tonal Shift (pictured above), Daniel's offering in this year's auction, and you'll see it too. Then raise your paddle and take a chance. If nothing else, you know it won't be hard to put together when you get it home."

                                                                                    - Wes Stitt 

Richard Jolley, Putto, glass, 11 x 10-1/2 x 5 in.

"Richard Jolley, along with his wife, Tommie Rush have long been Penland fixtures. Their blown glass sculptures, vases and bowls have often been among the most popular and sought-after benefit auction items. This year Richard has provided a very beautiful small sculpture entitled Putto. This putto is not unlike the putti that one would see hovering in the corners of Renaissance religious paintings. There are hundreds of years of the history of cherubs being used in fine art and sculpture. Richard's interpretation is classical in form, but exists as a stand-alone cherub with a jauntily tossed head and erect stylized wings resting on a solid base.  

"Jolley is known for a very specific type of glass blowing and it is employed to its fullest in his figurative work. Putto demonstrates his mastery of working hot glass with a variety of tools to literally form the sculpture out of solid molten glass. His ability to use glass to form expressions and mood is unsurpassed. I have seen Richard work many times and I am always mesmerized by his mastery of the material he works with every day. He creates his own glass, the colors are completely his creation, and he manipulates that glass to suit his needs for that particular object. Richard's work is in many private and public collections; he has been published in numerous exhibition catalogues, and was the subject of a monograph by Sam Hunter. He is a rare artist of great accomplishment and it is great to see one of his sculptures in this year's auction."

                                                                             - Andrew Glasgow