Artist of the Month
April 2024
Christopher Kerr-Ayer
Based in New Hampshire, Christopher Kerr-Ayer is a multi-disciplinary artist working primarily with glass. He owns and operates The Pool Glassworks, which emphasizes a design forward, contemporary craft approach to making. Kerr-Ayer utilizes antique and contemporary aesthetics and techniques, combining found objects with handmade components. Kerr-Ayer is represented by Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC, where his exhibition Filling a Home runs through April 24.
Click on each photo to the right for a full picture.
Study in Abstract Building No. 1, 2024; 24 x 17 x 13 inches; manipulated glass and found objects
Flora Candelabra, 2024; 15 x 13 x 24 inches; manipulated glass and found objects
Chain Link Champion (Gold), 2024; 36 x 16 x 16 inches; manipulated glass and found objects
Study in Abstract Building No. 2, 2024; 29 x 18 x 18 inches; manipulated glass and found objects
Abacus Candelabra, 2023; 23 x 9 x 25 inches; manipulated glass, adhesive
Study in Abstract Building No. 3, 2024; 26 x 23 x 12 inches; manipulated glass and found objects
Christopher Kerr-Ayer
Artist Statement:
Glass culture reveres virtuosic technique and fetichizes the forms created within the limitations of manipulating glass with heat. By shifting focus to the cooled state, this body of work is slow, technical and intuitive - escaping the constraints of time, heat, and the round format. This subversion is a means to explore and develop a new, contemporary language that centers material curiosity. These works evolve naturally, expanding their visual vocabulary and technical complexity; referencing other materials, both natural and manufactured, using synthetic and observational abstraction to blend geometric and organic forms. This architectural work combines traditional Slavic, Scandinavian, and Italian glass-making practices. The individual components, their shapes and color patterns, are produced using hot glass techniques. Once cooled, I compose hot sculpted parts on a flat surface; moving and exchanging individual components until I reach the final arrangement. Each piece is then rough-cut and sized, and the connections refined by grinding and polishing. Flush fitting joints and an archival glass adhesive hold the structure together. The work is constructed incrementally from the base up in a series of balanced glue-ups.
About Christopher Kerr-Ayer
Christopher Kerr-Ayer’s objective is to make glass objects that push the limits of contemporary craft by investigating outside the canonical methods of making. His recent work explores the intersection between the act of play and small-scale architecture. Kerr-Ayer learned to make glass in production studios, which requires focus and an active engagement with a multiplicity of approaches to the material. Kerr-Ayer has attended workshops and residencies, exposing him to a wide breadth of design and aesthetics from across the globe. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from Johnson State College in Vermont. His work stretches from conceptual sculpture to functional housewares. His interest in investigating the line between functional and nonfunctional objects is what drives him to make new work. He interprets everyday objects as a way to disassemble identity, fragility, and objects themselves. He has helped facilitate workshops across the United States and has taught classes at the Penland School of Craft (NC) and Urban Glass (NYC).
Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, North Carolina, for providing the Artist of the Month.
The Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to further the development and appreciation of art made from glass.
The Alliance informs collectors, critics and curators by encouraging and supporting museum exhibitions, university glass departments and specialized teaching programs, regional collector groups, visits to private collections, and public seminars.
