Glass and Ceramics

 Baker Museum is hosting an exhibition of glass and ceramics that were donated to the museum by longtime local supporters of the museum.  Over 30 years this couple collected hundreds of museum worthy pieces; the current show presents 74 works by 60 different artists.  I saw this two weeks ago with a docent and went back to see the individual pieces more slowly.

This is one of my favorites, 21st Century Guernica by glass artist Tim Tate.  It has images of boats in the center, with two-way mirrors and LED lighting, and figures from Picasso's Guernica around the edges.  The mirrors let a viewer peer inward, seemingly to infinity.

These are two beautifully executed ceramic figures by Kirsten Stingle.

This is The Boxer, a 2017 cast glass work by Dean Allison.  She looks totally exhausted.

This is just part of a very big 2013 stained glass work by Judith Schaechter.  A Play About Snakes.

This is Ring R1931, White, Black, Red, a 2018 work of fused kiln-formed glass by Colin Reid.

Another favorite work is Robert Mickelsen's 2008 piece, Shake, made from difficult to execute flame-worked borosilicate glass, set in sandblasted assembled steel.  Here, five clear human hands reach out toward a group of sandblasted hands, preparing for a handshake.  Mikelsen writes in part, "Look beyond differences and see what we have in common. Rejoice in our shared experience instead of fighting over small differences.  What do you say? Let's shake on it."

  Mandalino, a 2015 work in blown and sculpted glass, is by Italian glassworker Davide Salvadore.

And here is Serpente, a 2012 work in hot-formed, sculpted, carved and blown glass.  It is the product of a collaboration between Davide Salvatore (the Italian artist who created Mandolino, above) and Canadian artist Shelly Muzylowski Allen.

Finally, here are two of the walls where the glass and ceramic works are displayed.