AACG - Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass

Katya Izabel Filmus

Artist Statement:

In the glass sculpture series Temporal Disintegration, currently on view at Litvak Contemporary in Tel Aviv from January to March 2026, Filmus employs a demanding, multistage kiln casting process that turns disintegration itself into a sculptural tool.

Each piece begins as a wax version of the final object, which she then allows to melt in a controlled way. The drips and collapsed residues of the wax are captured in a second mold, from which the work is finally cast in glass. Most of the melted works are cast in dense black glass, while only three pieces remain complete and are rendered in clear glass, emphasizing the tension between collapse and wholeness. This complex, highly sensitive procedure preserves every minute trace of distortion and attests to Filmus’s technical mastery and precision in the medium of cast glass.

Conceptually, the partially collapsed forms recall Dalí’s melting clocks and open a contemplation on how trauma leaves its mark on everyday objects. Bricks, a clock, a framed picture, a pair of slippers, all elements of the domestic sphere, appear slightly warped, carrying a dark twist that suggests the pressures of conflict.

Created in the wake of the events of October 7, the series reflects on the destruction of cultural infrastructures and on Temporal Disintegration, a disturbance of time perception associated with trauma. Frozen in glass, these familiar objects become quiet witnesses to the violence of the present and to the way wars and traumatic events, past and present alike, inscribe themselves not only in individual memory but on the human condition as a whole.

About Katya Izabel Filmus

Filmus is an international sculptor and educator whose practice centers on cast glass and the poetics of material change. She holds a BFA from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and an MA with distinction from the University of Sunderland in the UK. Alongside her studio work, she has taught at Bezalel Academy, Shenkar, and in specialized workshops worldwide.

Working through complex mold making and kiln casting processes, she treats glass as a carrier of memory. Impressions of bodies, objects, and architectural fragments are translated into solid yet vulnerable forms, in which surfaces register traces of loss, erosion, and time. The body appears in her work as both fragile and enduring, a site where personal experience intersects with larger cultural narratives.

Filmus belongs to a dynamic generation of artists furthering the evolution of glass within the contemporary art landscape. Her work reflects a masterful command of traditional techniques, seamlessly integrated with the complex conceptual inquiries of today's art world.

Her works are exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, and are included in private and public collections, such as Museo del Vetro, Murano, Italy; Eretz Israel Museum, Tel-Aviv, Israel; The Angel collection for contemporary art, Tel-Aviv, Israel; Tyne & Wear Museums , UK; AxoNobel, International Paint, Limited, UK.

Filmus has exhibited widely in Europe, the United States, and Israel, and has undertaken significant public and private commissions. Filmus is among the presentors at The Studio Casting Symposium at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, which will take place in June, where she will also be running a summer class. in  She lives and works in Tel Aviv, where her studio functions as a laboratory for casting, melting, and reconfiguring the visible remains of experience.

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Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to Litvak Contemporary, Tel-Aviv, Israel, for providing the Artist of the Month.