Handle with care: glass artist inspired by rhythms of nature
12 February 2020
JamFactory ICON Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time opens at Tweed Regional Gallery
Clare Belfrage is known for her distinctive artworks in which complex patterns of fine glass lines trace her forms. Her exhibition JamFactory ICON Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time opens at Tweed Regional Gallery on Friday 21 February 2020.
The characteristically fluid lines that have become synonymous with Belfrage’s practice are part of a technical breakthrough involving the artist’s innovative use of fine glass rods known as ‘stringers’. In this process, Belfrage applies heavily stretched, thinned and lengthened stringers to her blown glass forms at an early stage in production.
The fine threads of glass are carefully positioned and fused onto the surface of the blown glass form with a torch to create the desired repetitious patterns.The resulting surface has an almost textile-like quality akin to those produced by knitting and weaving.
“When creating my artworks I am definitely thinking of the building up of a pattern, line by line, one small element applied at a time, slowly creating a tempo. It is clearly different to the accumulative process in nature yet somehow reminiscent and I think the flow of making is captured within the final object,” Belfrage said.
Inspired by the repetitious patterns found in nature and the woven lines of textiles, Belfrage is particularly drawn to the layered rhythms that mark growth, change and the passing of time in the natural world.
“This can be seen in a leaf, a rock, a grass tree or a particular view, a stretch of sand or water. It is the potent combination of intimacy and power, drama and delicacy. It is wonder and it is the myriad expressions of time; fast and slow, fleeting and frozen,” she said.
Gallery Director Susi Muddiman OAM said: “There is a feeling of tranquility about Clare’s glass works. She speaks eloquently of the unnoticed rhythms of nature that flow around us. She recalls observing the mark made by a blade of grass moving back and forth by the wind. This evocative image becomes a recurrent theme for her work where networks of glass threads are drawn over the surface of the vessels. The vessels exist as beautiful objects, but also as the visible sign of the artist's engagement with the natural world and her ability to develop a means of communicating this experience into glass.”
On Friday 21 February at 5.15pm DST, join artist Clare Belfrage for insights into her exhibition and practice. This will be followed by the official opening celebrations with guest speaker Claire Sourgnes, CEO of artisan in Brisbane from 6pm to 8pm DST.
JamFactory ICON Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time is a JamFactory touring exhibition.
JamFactory ICON Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time has been assisted by the South Australian Government through Arts South Australia and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, Contemporary Touring Initiative.
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Caption: Clare Belfrage, A Measure of Time, collection of works, 2018, tallest height 530mm. Photo: Pippy Mount