Breaking Glass News! Jeff Zimmer Wins British Glass Biennale!

The British Glass Biennale is the foremost exhibition of excellence in contemporary glass by artists, designers and craftspeople currently working in Britain. Taking place every two years it is the highlight of the International Festival of Glass.

Winner of the 2019 British Glass Biennale - Jeff Zimmer!

Winner of the 2019 British Glass Biennale – Jeff Zimmer!

So excited to find out that WGS alum Jeff Zimmer has won this prestigious award! Super Congratulations Jeff!

Glass Sparks: Jeff Zimmer

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Washington Glass School alumn Jeff Zimmer had returned to the school for a visit in January. Now a resident of the UK, Jeff lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he received a MDES in Glass & Architectural Glass, at the Edinburgh College of Art, (ECA), where he is now an instructor.

In the UK, Jeff has been making quite a name for his artwork – recently featured in the British Glass Biennale and shown in a collaboration between Contemporary Applied Arts & Contemporary Glass Society This year he will be exhibitng at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, in the UK .

Jeff’s work was selected to be part of the Corning Museum of Glass’ New Glass Review 31. Tina Oldknow, Curator of Modern Glass, The Corning Museum of Glass said of his work:

“… glass is not immediately apparent in Jeff Zimmer’s ‘1/1000th the Distance between Me and You (in a Deadrise)’, but it is an essential part of the work. A dark and dramatic object, it is constructed of 22 layers of enameled and sandblasted glass in a light box. In the obscured photograph, an object in the distance that emerges from black clouds under a clearing sky can be faintly discerned: is it a ship or something else? Using a box of cut glass sheets, Zimmer creates the depth and luminosity of a painting, but it is an image that undoubtedly changes every time it is viewed, depending on the angle and the ambient light.”

While at the Glass School, Jeff worked on a piece that will be shown at the WGS 10th Anniversary Exhibition to be held this May at Washington, DC’s Longview Gallery.

A strong narrative is created by meticulously layering imagery made from enameled and sandblasted glass.

The layered composition works in a tremendously subtle way; the depth of field changes as the viewer moves around the work, allowing one’s perception to shift and migrate.

Jeff evaluates and modifies each individual layer of glass as he fires the enamel onto the glass sheets.

Jeff constructs a box of glass for presentation, and installs LED lighting to illuminate the panels.
The box-like construction of each work creates an almost cinematic experience of space, volume and depth. One is drawn in by the emergent light from beneath the horizon or trailing into the distance like a wake.
Check out the final piece – titled “Fog Of Communication” at the 10th Anniversary Show!
Click HERE to jump to Jeff’s website.

For other glass artist profiles:

Diane Cabe

Sean Hennessey

Teddie Hathaway

Elizabeth Mears

Allegra Marquart

Jackie Greeves