Speech: Fused - material, skill and stories, FUSE Glass Prize 2024

Fused: material, skill and stories

Opening night speech by Eva Czernis-Ryl, Curator, Powerhouse Museum

On 3 October, opening night of the FUSE Glass Prize 2024 at Australian Design Centre , Eva Czernis-Ryl spoke about the dazzling skill and unbounded imagination of Australian glass artists, coupled with the determination to push their chosen material far beyond its preconceived boundaries. This exhibition shares the remarkable results.

Tonight, we celebrate the fifth iteration of the prestigious FUSE Glass Prize produced by Adelaide’s iconic Jam Factory. Huge congratulations to all involved - to the artists and to all responsible for creating, producing and bringing this brilliant exhibition of this year’s finalists, here to the Australian Design Centre where it is so beautifully presented.

Reflecting on the history of this biennial Prize and scanning in my memory hundreds of works from the remarkable Australian and New Zealand glass artists included over the years, I can clearly see how consistently these works charted the outstanding skills, material knowledge and artistic achievements of some of the most creative practitioners in the field, both established and those confidently finding their feet on the contemporary glass scene. I can see how the practices of these artists have remained underpinned by their deep respect for, and fascination with the history of glass, but also by the desire to break with history, to push boundaries - boundaries of form, material, concept and the discipline itself.

What stands out in my memory, and what immediately strikes us also in this exhibition, are the artists’ rich imaginations and the astonishing range of creative approaches, all firmly underpinned by the dazzling display of skill and the continuing quest for finding new paths. But there is something else: these galleries are buzzing with stories that all these works bring. So, my little plea tonight is that when you look around, please do not forget to look for the stories - those directly embedded in the artworks but also the stories of the artists themselves: of their creative lives, their dreams and aspirations, failures and successes, all equally important.

There is so much on offer tonight, do take a longer, deeper look, if you can. And you will see that among the works on display are many that express their creators’ concern for, and connection to the natural world, from the rainforests of Eastern Australia reflected in Clare Berlage’s pieces to Kirstie Rea’s magical garden moments. Do not miss Alexandra Hirst’s contemplations on the resilience of rocks shaped by the force of water, her metaphor for our lives moulded by the currents of our fast-changing environment. Relationships and human behaviours are central to the works from Kathryn Witman and Kate Baker whose poetic panels capture a fleeting maternal gaze, an embodiment of love and longing, while artists such as Madeline Cardone and Ember Satyn embrace the potential of glass to explore human body and behaviour.

Annette Blair and Carman Skihan celebrate daily objects in their contemplative still lifes, and Emeirely Nucifora-Ryan, the winner of the emerging artist prize, invites us to experience her daily practice as a working artist through her captivating, bright-red neon light installation. Then we have Mel Douglas who continues to mesmerise us with her glass drawings, while Hannah Gason, Katie-Ann Houghton and Nick Mount focus on the interplay of light, form and space in their sculptural forms.

Now, I must tell you how I thrilled I was to discover a marvellous story behind Ian Mowbray’s tiny Racer 502 Cirrus. The work is a 1:1 replica of a paper glider designed by Dr Yasuaki Ninomiya whose paper gliders held the record for the longest flight in 1980. Ian says that his glass replica will fly with sufficient thrust, on take-off! Now how great is this: Ninomiya is a Japanese aircraft designer who also created the White Wings line of paperboard aircraft described as ‘the Ferraris of paper air-planes’ by a curator of the National Air and Space Museum. Dr Ninomiya’s designs have sold millions throughout the world, and he wrote a multi-volume work on the subject. Did you know there was something like the Great International Paper Airplane Contest? Things you learn…

And finally, talking about things curious and thrilling, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Tom Moore on winning this year’s FUSE Glass Prize in the established category with his mischievous glass creatures ‘that might provoke curiosity’. Entitled Dandy Lion among the Antipodes, the group includes four fantastical beings named Handsome Duckling, Sweet Boots, Quadravian Cyclops, Dandy Lion & Kohl Canary. Tom is among the most creative Australian glass artists whose playful works critique the social and environmental concerns of our times. What I love about his practice most is Tom’s boundless imagination and how he reimagines Italian renaissance and modernist glass and takes it to another level, so distinctively his own: Tom creates contemporary whimsical figures that test unfamiliar grounds, or perhaps they are more familiar than we think?

This brings me to our own stories: our own experiences, feelings and the memories we all bring to reading artworks. Interesting how that Dandy Lion brought back from my memory a school friend of mine… I do believe that it is through these personal stories and our unique sensibilities that we first connect with artworks. This is where the magic happens.

Finally, a big thank you to the Jam Factory, to the Australian Design Centre and of course to all the generous sponsors for supporting studio glass, for creating such a valuable opportunity for Australian and New Zealand artists, for so nurturing emerging talent and empowering studio glass to confidently march into the future. It is an incredible feeling to watch all these artists experiment and grow, to make waves on the contemporary visual arts scene across the regions and globally. Once again, massive congratulations to the finalists and winners.

FUSE GLASS PRIZE 2024

The winner was South Australian-based glass artist Tom Moore for his work Dandy Lion among the Antipodes (Handsome Duckling, Sweet Boots, Quadravian Cyclops, Dandy Lion & Kohl Canary), 2022 & 2023.

The David Henshall Emerging Artist Prize was awarded to Emeirely Nucifora-Ryan for her entry Processed, July 2023, 2023.

FINALISTS

ESTABLISHED ARTISTS
Kate Baker (NSW), Clare Belfrage (SA), Annette Blair (NSW), Mel Douglas (ACT), Hannah Gason (ACT), Katie-Ann Houghton (ACT), Tom Moore (SA), Ian Mowbray (Vic), Nick Mount (SA), Kirstie Rea (NSW), Layla Walter (NZ), Kathryn Wightman (NZ)

EMERGING ARTISTS
Madeline Cardone (NSW), Hamish Donaldson (Vic), Alexandra Hirst (SA), Emeirely Nucifora-Ryan (ACT), Ember Satyn (SA), Carman Skeehan (SA)