Winter 2008 Exhibition
November 13th, 2008 to January 5th, 2009
First and Second Floor Galleries:
Organized by the Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
Transformation 6 examines contemporary glass not a just as categorical medium within craft, but as a
conceptual framework itself. In this exhibition, glass is an active subject that opens a dialogue about its
position within the discipline as well as its relationship to other media such as installation art, painting, and sculpture. Some works reference its everyday use as a vessel
form, architectural element, or as a means of protection and
containment. Yet others examine its potential associations with
kitsch and the decorative arts. Multiple techniques surface
throughout the exhibition, from blowing to casting, cold working,
slumping, and fusing.
Participating artists: Jennifer Blazina, Victoria Calabro, Robert
Carlson, Sydney Cash, Nicole Chesney, Michael Crowder
(Honorable Mention), Rene Culler, Daniel Cutrone, David Fox, Susan Tayler Glasgow, Hunter, Kazumi Ikemoto, Ben Johnson,
Jeremy Lampe, Paul Moroni, John Miller, Stephen Protheroe, Kait
Rhodes (Merit Award), Michael Rodgers (Honorable Mention),
Amy Rueffert (Merit Award), David Schnuckel, Boris Shpeizman,
Susanna B. Speirs, Penelope Comfort Starr, Atsuko Tajima, Tim
Wagner, and Mark Zirpel (The Elizabeth R. Rapheal Founder!s
Prize Winner).
Selected Highlights:
Jennifer Blazina: Recollection
 Recollection is an installation consisting of six antique school desks and a salvaged chalkboard.
Stemming from Blazina's interest in the historic Wheaton Arts' schoolhouse, the multimedia installation
casts an uncanny otherworldly presence in its portrayal of a classroom from the early 1900s. The
desktops and sets are composed of fabricated steel and cast glass complete with inkwells and slats.
Images of teachers and classmates from the early 1900s have been screen printed onto the underside of
each glass desktop. Captured within the desks, each tells the story of a group of individuals bound
together in history. As Blazina states, “Each desk holds a story, a moment in time belonging to multiple
lives and captured in one frame.”
Blazina received a M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI and received a B.F.A.
from Purchase College, State University of New York as well as a B.A. in Art History from Sarah
Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY. Blazina lives and works in Philadelphia, PA.
Michael Rogers: Evoking Nabakov - Honorable Mention
 Michael Roger's work Evoking Nabakov focuses on
the concept of transformation and metamorphosis as
seen in nature and literature. The piece was inspired
by a trip to the Harvard Natural History Museum
where the artist encountered a display of Vladimir
Nabakov's butterfly collection. A widely recognized
lepidopterist, Nabakov was known in scientific circles
for his research of the Blue Morpho Butterfly. The
piece, consisting of a glass case containing an
obvious reference to Nabakov in the placement of the
typewriter, also includes photographs of butterflies covered with glass lenses on the shelf above. The
glass panels enclosing the cabinet are covered with engraved text, adding to the reference of Nabakov as
both scientist and important literary figure.
Rogers received a M.F.A. from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign; and a M.A. and B.A. from
Western Illinois University. He lives and works in Rochester, NY.
Mark Zirpel: Pair - The Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder's Prize Winner
 Designed as a machine, Mark Zirpel's Pair reconsiders the vessel form
as metaphor for human emotions. A simple mechanism holds two glass
containers filled with water that are sealed with rubber gloves. As the
glasses rise and lower alternately from each other, the white gloves
expand and retract never to reach each other while in motion. This
transference of air from one glove to another references the
interconnection between the two objects, metaphorically suggesting a
relationship that exists between two people that appears destined to
remain unfulfilled.
Zirpel received a M.F.A. from San Francisco Art Institute and a B.F.A.
from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK. He now lives and works
in Seattle, WA.
For more information about the Philadelphia Art Alliance Exhibitions Program, contact Melissa Caldwell at 215-545-4302 or mcaldwell@philartalliance.org.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission Fee:
$5 for adults
$3 for students and seniors
Pay what you wish on Fridays.
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