Artist of the Month
June 2020
Jessica Loughlin
Jessica Loughlin has been a studio artist for over 20 years, exhibiting both nationally and internationally. This year she was the first Australian to have work selected as a finalist in the Loewe Craft Prize. With a gentle color palette of soft muted hues, her work explores ideas of evaporation, space and distance, and subtle changes of light throughout the day. Jessica is represented by Sabbia Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
Click on each photo to the right for a full picture.
continuum, 2020; 520h x 1883w x 60d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass wall panel
depth of field, 2020; 30h x 470w x 470d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass, view from top
incorporeal, 2020; 975h x 1650w x 60d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass wall panel
new blue, 2020; 460h x 600w x 50d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass
receptor of light xii, 2020; 445h x 615w x 55d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass
unfolding continuum x, 2020; 497h x 1670w x 60d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass wall panel
pale blue dot, 2020; 490h x 490w x 25d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass wall sculpture
receptor of light xii, 2020; 445h x 615w x 55d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass
unfolding continuum xi, 2020; 497h x 1721w x 60d millimeters; kiln formed & cold worked glass wall panel
Jessica Loughlin
Artist Statement:
“For many years I have been moved by the blue at the far edge of what can be seen, that color of horizons, of remote mountain ranges, anything far away. The color of that distance is the color of an emotion, the color of solitude and desire, the color of there seen from here, the color of where you are not. The world is blue at its edges and in its depth. Blue is the light that got lost. Light at the end of the spectrum does not travel the whole distance from the sun to us. It disperses amongst the molecules of the air, it scatters in water.”
1. Solnit, R, 2005, A field guide to getting lost, Viking Penguin, NY, USA, pg29
My pieces are about the observation of light. They almost perform as a "tabular rasa" for noticing subtle changes of light throughout the day. The opaline glass behaves in a similar way to light in the sky. Fine molecules in the glass reflect blue light while transmitting the warm spectrum of light. At first glance these pieces may appear white, but on closer inspection the colours appear and slowly change as the light shifts throughout the day.
Jessica Loughlin, May 2020
About Jessica Loughlin
Jessica Loughlin has been a studio artist for over 20 years, exhibiting both nationally and internationally. This year she was the first Australian to have work selected as a finalist in the Loewe Craft Prize. In 2018 she was awarded the Fuse Glass Prize, and in 2004 and 2007, the Tom Malone Art Prize. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Loughlin is a graduate of the Canberra School of Art under the tutelage of late Stephen Procter. Her work is part of major public collections around the world including National Gallery of Australia; Queensland Art Gallery, Australia; Corning Museum of Glass NY, USA; Mobile Museum of Art AL, USA; MUDAC Lausanne, Switzerland; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.
Loughlin’s work is characterized by a strict reductive sensibility and restricted use of color. Fusing kiln-formed sheets of opaque and translucent glass together in flat panels or in thin, geometric compositions and vessels, she alludes to shadow, reflection, and refraction. Loughlin’s work is influenced by the flat landscapes and salt lakes of South Australia, and the recurring motif of the mirage appears in much of her work, each piece its own poetic statement.
Click here for an artist's resume.
Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to Sabbia Gallery, Sydney, Australia, 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.
