Category Archives: sean hennessey

"The Elements" at ArtSpace

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Sean Hennessy “A Dream Of Flying” cast glass, concrete

“The Elements,” is an exhibition that features the imaginative work of four contemporary artists, Sherill Gross, Sean Hennessy, Sean Lundgren and Alexandra Zealand, opening on Friday, Feb 5th at ArtSpace Herndon.

Anchored in the classic elements of Hellenic physics – Water, Fire, Earth and Air – these artists use the elements as a part of their medium, rather than as the subject of their works.

Each element contains the origin of their work, is part of their work, and even transforms their work. Paper can not be created without water; ironically too much water can also destroy paper. Early fire pits dug into the sand had the side effect of also causing the first forms of glass, when the extreme heat of the fire melted silica. Dirt is the earth, the source of clay, and the root of life. Air is the space that floats between suspended objects, allowing for movement, light and shadow. Air is also the catalyst for physical transformation.

“I think of Fire as light, as heat, and as a metaphorical spark of creativity, a Prometheun gift of consciousness. I use fire both physically and conceptually to create glass and concrete wall relief sculptures inspired by personal interpretations of myth, religions, and a whimsical use of everyday objects.” Sean Hennessey

Sean Hennessey is a sculptor, painter, and glass artist. A graduate of Berea College, Sean worked in professional theatre for ten years and has bridged the theatre and fine arts community since moving to DC in 1997. His works have been seen in many contexts and venues including: The Shakespeare Theatre, The Kennedy Center, the Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Arena Stage, Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, Signal 66, The National Institutes of Health, The Ratner Museum and Artomatic. He’s the owner of Scenic Artisans LLC, a decorative paint and sculpture service, and a resident artist at the Washington Glass School and Creative Arts Center. dcsean.com

The Elements

ArtSpace Herndon

Dates: February 5–26, 2011

Reception: Saturday, February 5 – 6-8pm.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Thursday: 10am-2pm, Friday: 10am-8pm, Saturday–Sunday: 12pm-5pm, Closed Mondays

750 Center Street, Herndon, VA

Tel: 703-956-6590

Posted in artspace, elements, herndon, sean hennessey, sherill anne gross

What Compels An Artist To Buy Art

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>DC based artist Sean Hennessy – writes in his blog “Paint and Plaster“ insights on how he and his wife – artist Rania Hassan – actively collect artwork and how they seek out work from local artists.

I wanted to share something very personal to me. our art collection. not pictures or anything, but the artists that we collect. My wife Rania and I have, over the last few years, been trying to collect works of DC area artists. We’re pretty committed to promoting and supporting local art and we have a lot of great friends that happen to be great artists. Place and community and important to us. We also want to shape our collection into something very personal and a narrative of sorts or our life, people and things that we want to be close to. Our collection is one venue and outlet for our creativity. I’ve talked to a number of people recently that want to collect DC art but were uncertain where to begin. I hope this helps those people… as well as just serving as a list for me to remind myself to buy art… and yes, its 100% subjective…

It is great that these artists choose to support the local art scene. I encourage everyone to go to local shows, galleries and artfairs – there are many ways to support the artistic life of your community.

Click HERE to jump to Sean’s list of artists and what compels him to purchase the works.

Posted in collecting artwork, Rania Hassan, sean hennessey

Glass Meets Art @ the Ratner Museum

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INTERSECT: Glass Meets Art
In-ter-sect: (in-ter-sekt) To cut across or overlap each other, to have one or more points in common.

A glass exhibition with a number of Washington, DC area glass artists is opening this weekend at the Ratner Museum in Bethesda , MD.

The eight artists in this exhibit have each been on an artistic journey and perhaps, still are. Their travels have taken them to different places and each unique journey distinguishes each artist from the other. Most of them have crossed paths at some point. In this exhibit, the artists, all independently chosen, converge for INTERSECT: Glass Meets Art. Glass and art are the points they have in common.

Some of the artists exhibiting are Washington Glass School favorites, including works by:

Sean Hennessey, a sculptor and painter, currently working in glass and concrete, creating narrative works inspired by artifacts, mythology, and common everyday objects.
Robert Weiner’s Colorbar Murrine Series, affords him the opportunity to experiment with color, fusing temperatures, and to express a personal style that reflects simplicity with a close attention to detail.
In her dynamic glass and mixed media creations, in which depth and contrast are dominant, Anne Elise Pemberton explores the relationship between plant, human, and atomic structures.
Nancy Weisser is an award winning multimedia artist with a focus on glass since 1980. As owner of Weisser Glass Studio, Nancy has made a substantial contribution to the dynamic growth of the Washington glass community.

Other artists in the diverse show include, Jill Tanenbaum, Judith Busby, Kari Minnick and Benjamin Bornstein.

Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum

10001 Old Georgetown Road

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Phone: 301.897.1518
Artist Reception, Sunday, September 12, 2010
1:30 – 3:30 pm

Hennessey and Hassan Opening @ NIH

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Sean Hennessey / Rania Hassan

Washington Glass School Artists Sean Hennessey and Rania Hassan both have their artwork on exhibit at the National Institutes of Health [NIH] in Bethesda, Maryland. Their evocative & tactile artwork will be on display through July 2 in the Clinical Research Center Galleries in the Mark O. Hatfield NIH Clinical Center, Building 10.

National Institutes of Health [NIH]

Clinical Research Center Galleries

Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, Building 10

May 7–July 2, 2010

9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Click here for map

Click here for visitor information *

*NIH is accessible 24 hours a day, everyday, but it is a secure facility, and as such, there are some access procedures visitors will go through.

Weekends and evenings are the best time to visit.

On the weekends, visitors need to use the delivery entrance on Rockville Pike, and on weekdays, the visitors entrance.





Posted in Lillian Fitzgerald, National Institutes of Health, NIH, Rania Hassan, sean hennessey

Sean Hennessey Works In Plaster & Glass

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>Studio Artist Sean Hennessey is shown here working on his series of cast glass and concrete panels.

Sean measures his glass and sketches his compositions.

Sean makes his panels using the dry plaster casting method, from float glass. He then renders the surface with other materials such as oxidized concrete and acid stains.

Sean creates a mold in the kilns

Sean’s glass and steel panels were one of the hits of the recent Artomatic.

The dry plaster technique that Sean uses is taught in the Washington Glass School class #928 – Bas Relief in Glass (taught by our Nicole Puzan). This class is starting soon – check it out! Click HERE to jump to the class schedule.

Posted in bas relief, sean hennessey

Spotlight on: Sean Hennessey

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>The multi talented artist Sean Hennessey is working in the glass studio this weekend. Sean works in a variety of media, cast glass, cast metal, concrete, plaster, paint… anything and everything. His striking cast glass works at the artDC Gallery show are particularly strong.

Sean Hennessey @ artDC Gallery

Sean is working from the studio on a new series – very strong designs that he casts in glass and embellishes with a variety of medium. See his work on his ETSY website – click HERE.


Sean works in the coldworking studio.


One of Sean’s finished works.

Click HERE to see all of Sean’s artwork.

Posted in sean hennessey

Sean Hennessey Works on New Artwork Concepts

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Artist Sean Hennessey is working through some new concepts for mixed media artwork. Sean has been a fast rising star of the DC art scene; his artwork is a unique blend of cast glass, concrete and pigments. Sean has been working with cast metal and steel, and has been welding steel components for his work. His newest series incorporates imagery based on transformation.

Sean discusses his concept sketches and notebook of his designs with Professor Tim Tate.


Click here to see his website.

Click here to see his faux finishing site.

Click here to see his blog.

Posted in dcsean, sean hennessey