AACG - Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass

Toland Sand

Artist Statement:

I live in a world of shape. Architectural shape. Geometric shape. Angles and curves, bespoke in a world wherein those two are hard to discern, to differentiate. I daydream in shape. Images arise at any time, though I try to discipline my time to when I want to create, as otherwise it’s a distraction from what I’m doing at the moment. I meditate every day and have for the past 53 years. It’s a time for quieting the mind, but as we all know, the mind doesn’t care much for being quiet. I’ve thought now and again of allotting a certain period of time for creative reflection, but I seldom make it happen. Generally, the void created by me working on glass on my machinery allows for distraction, as my work process is quiet and reflective. Whether I’m cutting glass with a saw, rough or fine grinding surfaces of optical crystal, or gluing glass together, there is always opportunities for creativity to announce itself. New shapes, new color combinations, using odd materials in my glass constructions, like rice paper, gold leaf, etc. percolate to the surface, sometimes grabbing my attention and sometimes not. It’s like thumbs up or thumbs down. If my hands are busy and dirty and I don’t want to clean and dry them to note down my thoughts, I file the ideas away.  When I’m not working directly on glass, sometimes those images come back to me. There are so many ideas that I can pick and choose what I want. 

The specifics of what I do with glass don’t allow me to create mentally an exact replica of what I end up with. There are too many data points and 360 one degree views of the finished work, not including differences in light, environment, and the and down of observation. Viewing from above or from the horizontal. It’s always changing. That’s the idea. The shape has a definition but the whirl of color as the piece spins, with images being refracted and then reflected, make the experience more of a one off video, a moving, externally oriented kaleidoscopic swirl of movement and the delight in that movement.  Rather than being static, it becomes alive. It’s hard to keep up with the change in images and shapes and colors on the interior. The intention is to bring in the attention, a sort of centering if not for a few moments wherein one can’t stop watching the unreal morphing going on. The stretching of straight lines into curved lines. The combination of two colors into a third color. The dance of painted graphics in a variety of colors, differing from front to back views, spinning on a base.  In the end I want the viewer to get caught in the vortex of the magic that my optical glass sculptures can provide, to take him/her from the mundane to the edge of the metaphysical, where the speed of light exists, light than lends it’s full spectrum of color and illumination to the object, the sculpture and from there into the viewer’s mind. There, primordial and visceral reactions take place wherein the only emotion that can exist is love and delight.

About Toland Sand

Toland Sand is a celebrated glass artist renowned for his innovative use of dichroic glass and polished crystal. His work blends simplicity and elegance with intricate internal complexity, often described as
“architecture for consciousness,” where the viewer’s attention becomes integral to the piece. Sand’s artistic vision is informed by both natural and architectural forms, drawing particular inspiration from his formative years in California and Greece, where he was surrounded by dramatic coastlines, ancient monuments, and classical sculpture.

Born in Berkeley in 1949, Sand spent part of his adolescence in Athens before earning a philosophy degree from Colorado College in 1971. He began his glass career in 1976, taking over a small stained glass business, and gradually transitioned to glassblowing and constructed glass sculpture by 1985. Largely self-taught, he established studios in rural New Hampshire and Carmel Valley, California, where he continues to create his distinctive works.

Sand’s pieces explore the interplay of interior and exterior spaces and have earned him numerous accolades, including the Art in Public Spaces Award and a nomination for New Hampshire’s Living Treasure Governor’s Award. He has participated in the Venice Biennale and completed commissions for prominent clients such as IBM, Verizon, and Coca-Cola. His works are held in private and public collections
worldwide. Residing in New Hampshire with his wife, Debbe Palmer, Sand splits his life between his studios and his California retreat. Through technical mastery and visionary artistry, Toland Sand continues to push the boundaries of contemporary glass art, captivating collectors and audiences around the globe.

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Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to Onessimo Fine Art, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for providing the Artist of the Month.