Report from Art Basel/Miami Art Fairs: Washington Glass School Crushes It!

The Art Basel/Miami Art Fairs presents artworks from across the globe.

The Art Basel/Miami Art Fairs presents artworks from across the globe.

Each December, Miami and Miami Beach becomes the epicenter of the art world with approximately 1200 art galleries from around the world showing thousands of artists in the Art Basel/Miami Art Week extravaganza.
Around 50,000 people visit the area for this incredible week, and they come from all parts of the world. It’s also a week of fashion with gala openings and celebrity studded events that fill the warm nights.
Perhaps due its inherent glitz and glamor, or the vibrancy, lux and drama of the medium, glass is SO much part of the fair. Maybe because its has a strong relationship to sand – in any case, Washington Glass School artists were showing at Art Miami this year in force! And there was a lot of glass to look at in the Miami Fairs. Said WGS Co-Director Tim Tate, ” It never ceases to amaze me how many blue-chip artists use glass in their artwork”. Tim Tate and William Warmus will together present a lecture on glass medium at the Miami Art fairs at the 2019 Glass Art Society conference to be held in St. Petersburg, FL in March.

Artists of Washington Glass School install at Art Miami/Context fair with Alida Anderson Art Projects Gallery.

Artists of Washington Glass School install at Art Miami/Context fair with Alida Anderson Art Projects Gallery.

Tim Tate's infinity mirror sculptures dominated Habatat Galleries space on the beach at Scope Miami.

Tim Tate’s infinity mirror sculptures dominated Habatat Galleries space on the beach at Scope Miami.

When it comes to Contemporary Art, the Art Miami is all about More, More, More. And that is what the Washington Glass School artists brought to the champagne-fueled cultural extravaganza.

Michael Janis was part of the Washington artists featured at Aldia Anderson Art Projects CONTEXT show.

Michael Janis was part of the stable of Washington, DC artists featured at Alida Anderson Art Projects CONTEXT show.

WGS Alum and Kent Stat MFA student Audrey Wilson dazzled the fair again this year with neon, plasma and cast glass sculptures.

WGS Alum and Kent Stat MFA student Audrey Wilson dazzled the fair again this year with neon, plasma and cast glass sculptures.

Laura Beth Konopinski's sculptures were at the center of the CONTEXT Miami fair.

Laura Beth Konopinski’s sculptures were at the center of the CONTEXT Miami fair.

Tim Tate's new endless mirror sculptures also were the draw at CONTEXT's Momentum Gallery space.

Tim Tate’s new endless mirror sculptures also were the draw at CONTEXT’s Momentum Gallery space.

The glass art drew aficionados of the medium - like Kari Rinn, Executice Director at North Carolina Glass Center and NYC's ubercollecter Susan Sanders.

The glass art drew aficionados of the medium – like Kari Rinn, Executice Director at North Carolina Glass Center and NYC’s ubercollecter Susan Sanders.

William Warmus, art critic, author and former curator of & Fellow of Corning Museum of Glass wrote about Michael Janis’ work “…Michael Janis showed stunning new work at Alida Anderson at Art Miami/Context. The large four part panel “Stasis in the Darkness” made an impact on two levels: from across the aisle, and close up in the quality of the details. Do not overlook the small kiln formed panels and the expert way he introduces and plays with subtle variations of thicknesses of the stacked layers of glass. They are “The Truth of Dreams.”

Michael Janis' new large scale glass sgraffito artwork debuted at Art Miami Context Art Fair.

Michael Janis’ new large scale glass sgraffito artwork debuted at Art Miami Context Art Fair.

Building Worlds @ GRACE

The Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) in Northern Virginia’s town of Reston,  presents Building Worlds – an exhibit of artwork that focuses on the role of science fiction, scientific fact, and fantasy in the changing nature of our relationship to our fears, ideals, and questions about being human.

Laura Beth Konopinski, "Hang:Purge"; glass; 2018

Laura Beth Konopinski, “Hang:Purge”; glass; 2018; photo by Pete Duvall

The artists in this exhibition create their own worlds, including cultural references and artifacts, to question the assumptions of history-making and truth-telling. Building Worlds features the work of Michael Booker, Rachel Guardiola, Timothy Harper, Laura Beth Konopinski, and Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann.

Opening Reception and Curator’s Talk: July 21, 5–7pm

Building Worlds
July 21- September 15, 2018
Greater Reston Arts Center
12001 Market Street, Suite #103, Reston, VA 20190
703.471.9242

Open Call To Emerging Glass Artists: Residencies at Florida’s DMG School Project

DMG School Project announces that they are accepting applications for two, ONE MONTH long glass residencies.  Since its inception in 2015, DMG School Project has been able to provide 11 different in house artist residencies.

dmg.school

The residencies will take place on the DMG Complex in St Petersburg, Florida. 

Ideally, these two “Artists In Residence” have worked together or are willing to work together both individually and collaboratively.

Residency includes: 

  One Month residency in September 2018.

  Shared lodging included during residency.

  24-hour access to St Pete Hot Glass studio and cold shop; this includes up to 20 hours of glory hole usage and up to 125 pounds of furnace glass per artist, per week. 

  $1000 stipend per artist. 

  Exhibition in October 2018 featuring new residency work at the Duncan McClellan Gallery.

  Professional photography of exhibition

   Mentorship by Duncan McClellan on the business aspects of being a successful artist. This includes how to effectively market your work, making gallery contacts, and cultivating collectors.

DMG School Project, an educational nonprofit housed within the Duncan McClellan Gallery complex, has received generous grants from the Florida Glass Art Alliance, the Milkey Family Foundation, Hough Family Foundation Inc, Art Alliance of Contemporary Glass, and the Maurice A. And Thelma P. Rothman Foundation, making it possible to offer a four week residency for two emerging glass artists.

Duncan McClellan, President of DMG School Project is a nationally recognized, award-winning glass artist. His distinctive style of masterful craftsmanship and iconic imagery is sought after by public and private collectors throughout the United States and abroad. In 2011, he opened Duncan McClellan Gallery followed by St. Petersburg Hot Glass Workshop, both of which serve as catalysts for the development of the Warehouse Arts District. Based on his philanthropic vision to inspire personal and artistic growth through glass art, he created the educational organization, DMG School Project.

DMG Complex
2342 Emerson Ave. South
St. Petersburg, FL, 33712

For further information, go to www.dmgschoolproject.org