Masterclass: Let’s Play! Explorations in Hot Glass – Maria Bang Espersen
Wed 24 September- 10:30 am - Fri 26 September- 4:30 pm
£895.00
Course Outline
Let glass do the talking and find a fresh perspective on glassmaking with Danish-Swedish artist Maria Bang Espersen. In this three-day masterclass, Espersen will share her methods of investigating the hidden possibilities within hot glass making, her approach being centered on deepening discoveries rather than shaping the glass to the artist´s will.
Starting with small exercises to loosen up and break habits, you will begin to let go of control and instead let your ideas develop in dialogue with the glass itself, resulting in a collaborative relationship with glass. We will learn to embrace unexpected outcomes and treat these as gifts to explore in playful and experimental ways.
Maria Bang Espersen
Maria Bang Espersen works around the idea that all things are malleable, like glass, and that nothing can be permanently defined. Her experimental sculptures are therefore not only an approach but also a statement; one that states to never get caught up in the restrictive norms or to obey established hierarchies. Essentially, her works in glass, are a play with the possibilities of the material and an attempt to expand the viewer’s understanding of her chosen medium.
Although static and solid in their final state, Espersen stretches, pulls and bends her glass, resulting in works that appear soft and almost possible of languid movement. Her chosen candy confectionery colour palette entices and draws the onlooker towards the artwork, which deliciously glisten.
Maria Bang Espersen has been awarded the Hempel Glass Prize 2024 by the Hempel Culture Foundation.
The sculpture Rock Mountain #1 has been selected as the emblem of the 2025 Revelations Fair located at the Grand Palais in Paris. The International Biennial of Crafts and Creation will take place from May 21-25th 2025. www.revelations-grandpalais.com