L Peter Hermansson The Continent at Method & Concept
The Continent (2021, by Peter Hermansson, Courtesy Method & Concept Gallery

6 Works that Represent the Latest in Contemporary Glass Art

Glass art spans thousands of years and today, contemporary artists blend technology, contrasting materials and color play for prismatic masterpieces that redefine the genre.

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Glass art spans thousands of years, first used mainly for functional wares, and turned into a decorative tradition in 13-century Venice with Murano glassmakers. The 1960s American Studio Glass Movement revolutionized the medium when Harvey Littleton helped turn the art form into a studio practice for independent artists to innovate. Dale Chihuly and Marvin Lipofsky pushed the genre further, utilizing gravity to form organic shapes and stretch the limits of the material. Today, the novelties continue with contemporary artists blending technology, contrasting materials and color play for prismatic masterpieces that redefine the genre. These six works exemplify the modern-day era of glass art. 

Layer by Layer

Wesley Rasko, who splits his time between the Czech Republic and Naples, blends glass with granite, wood and other contrasting materials, along with techniques like glass painting and laminating for hypnotic effects. His 31.5-inch-tall, helix design Luminous (2023) bends light and color through 80 layers of hand-painted, laminated and cut glass. “It is so specialized and so time-consuming to do it in this fashion, one would have to be absolutely mad to break it down into so many intricate steps,” the artist says. wnrglass.com

Color Theory

For her Molten Landscapes series, U.K.-based Bethany Wood creates sensuous, ribbon-like textures and bright and metallic tones by bursting and smashing popping molten glass bubbles across a glass canvas. With Sepia Rose (2023), East West Fine Art Gallery owner Leeza Arkhangelskaya challenged the artist to create a piece inspired by Southwest Florida interior design. Drawn to the blush and earthy colors of the modern coastal palette, Wood—who always reflects a natural environment in her work—used pink, russet and blue hues to channel the seasonal changes in the Scottish countryside, capturing the dusk sky as summer turns to autumn. eastwestfineart.com

Shape Shifter 

Third-generation Czech glass artist Vlastimil Beránek spends at least a year crafting each of his Bohemian crystal sculptures. Softer, more delicate and clearer than traditional glass, Bohemian crystal takes on curvaceous, minimalist forms in Vlastimil Beránek’s masterful hands. “He challenges what is physically possible with glass,” says Jay Shaw, of Naples’ Shaw Gallery. While most glass works have flat surfaces (due to gravity), Beránek’s Aqua One Chameleon (2022) shows how he freezes movement, rigorously manipulating the glass to prevent physics from taking hold. To finish, he files away every vein, ridge and microcrack, revealing a flawless, fluid form. shawgallery.com 

Earthen Treasure 

British artist Samantha Donaldson employs several cutting and polishing techniques to achieve her artistic vision. Inspired by the inside of a geode, the undulating Vug in Olivin Gold & Brown (2023) emerges from a combination of glass blowing and careful slicing, revealing a hollow internal cavity and forming an optical illusion that draws you in. vesselgallery.com

Southern Lights 

Elodie Holmes’ Contorta (2022), part of the Aurora series, features a heaving shape, spiral accents and a billowing color gradient. The New Mexico-based artist developed her own formula for chalcedony (a type of glass made with silver, which was developed in 1500s Murano and resembles the namesake agate). With a precise method of heating and cooling, Holmes changes the material’s chemical composition to create a colorful array that appears to be in constant motion.

Human Condition 

Today’s glass artists look to tradition to reinvent the medium. Peter Hermansson, represented by Naples gallery METHOD & CONCEPT, references the early-1900s Swedish Graal technique, a complex layering that allows the artist to infuse the glass with a narrative sketch or engraving. Hermansson’s narrative-driven works blend Graal with his background in graffiti for pieces, like The Continent (2021), which grapples with the human condition and man’s inner struggles. Symbols of snakes, spider webs keys and diamonds speak to our fears and desires. methodandconcept.com