Artist of the Month
April 2016
Hannah Kirkpatrick
Hannah Kirkpatrick’s approach to glass comes from her interests in optics, light, process, and time. Through the use of light-sensitive materials such as glass, neon, and photography, she creates sculptures and performative works that aim to educate and generate curiosity in history, science, and process. Hannah received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is represented by Glass Wheel Studio.
Click on each photo to the right for a full picture.
Lights, Camera, Action!, 2014; installation and performance at Chrysler Museum Glass Studio, Norfolk, VA. Photo by Echard Wheeler
Forgotten Object Series: Keys to the Past, 2012; 7.25 x 4 x 6.5 inches (with lid open); kiln-cast glass and collected box. Photo by Echard Wheeler
Green Afterimage, 2013; 34 x 16 x 5 inches; neon and wood. Photo by Echard Wheeler
Illuminated Geography: The Naro, 2014; 9 x 6 x 4 inches; cameo-engraved glass, wood, LED light. Photo by Echard Wheeler
Tree House, 2014; 10 x 5 x 4 feet; neon installation (collaboration between Woodrow Collective members Hannah Kirkpatrick, Joan Biddle, and Kristi Totoritis)
EKG of Unconditional Love, 2013; 7 feet x 10 x 2 inches; neon and hollow-sculpted glass. Photo by Hannah Kirkpatrick
Eye Cavern, 2010; 9 inches diameter; mold-blown glass. Photo by Alexandra Forsyth
Forgotten Object Series: Tool, 2012; 11 x 5 x 2 ¾ inches; kiln-cast glass and collected box. Photo by Echard Wheeler
Illuminated Geography: The Wisconsin, 2014; 9 x 6 x 4 inches; cameo-engraved glass, wood, LED light. Photo by Echard Wheeler
Labor of Love EKG, 2015; 24 x 6 feet x 8 inches; neon, aluminum, paint. Commissioned by Glass Wheel Studio, Norfolk, VA. Photo by Ed Pollard
Hannah Kirkpatrick
Artist Statement:
In the oddest sense, a moment of epiphany is when what is familiar to me becomes upside down and reverse, the same way that light comes through a camera obscura. The perspective is refreshing. This is the moment I become aware of my subjectivity in relation to the exterior world. My fruitions come from taking these moments, zooming into the micro and then expanding out to the macro. In order for me to discover, I remake and unlearn what I know and allow a sense of wonder and intuitiveness to take over.
Growing up in an age of drastic transition in technological advances, I admire the physical and direct qualities of the analog and appreciate the fast and innumerable capabilities of the digital. In my practice, I playfully link these transitions in technology through objects, devices, and engaging experiences of art. Purposefully turning the accustomed around to eclipse the old with the new, I aim to educate and generate curiosity in our history, process, and progress. These major shifts in technology affect the way we communicate, experience music, and document events.
As an artist involved in process, I am drawn to physical qualities of material and the magic in development. Through the use of light sensitive materials such as glass, neon, and photography, I explore notions of intangibility, perception, and time. I reference the strong history of objects used by artists and scientists that have come before me as developers and experimenters in the field of phenomena.
Click here to read an article about Hannah's work, Labor of Love EKG, commissioned by Glass Wheel Studio.
About Hannah Kirkpatrick
Born in 1989, Hannah Kirkpatrick originally hails from New Jersey. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. Focusing on the relation of time, analog technology, and phenomena, Hannah uses light and glass as her primary materials for investigation. She was awarded a fellowship at the Creative Glass Center of America in 2012 and People’s Choice Award for Gallery 1708’s “InLight Richmond 2014.” Hannah exhibits her work nationally and has created large-scale projects for the Norfolk Public Art Commission and Glass Wheel Studio.
Hannah developed her work ethics at institutions such as Socrates Sculpture Park, Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School, Corning Museum of Glass, and the Norfolk NEON Arts District. She currently works in Norfolk, Virginia, as an artist assistant for Charlotte Potter, fabricator, and instructor at the Chrysler Museum of Art Glass Studio and the Governor's School for the Arts. Hannah is developing new works during her year-long residency at Glass Wheel Studio.
Click here for an artist's resume.
Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to Glass Wheel Studio, Norfolk, Virginia, 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.
