Baldwin/Guggisberg: Beyond Glass

Artists and master glassblowers of international repute, Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg have explored all the techniques associated with glass production to develop their own captivating style made up of shapes and colours, drawing out the very essence of light and turning it into form. Their experiments have produced extraordinarily effective combinations, such as a Scandinavian-inspired glass coated with layers of fire-blown and coloured material decorated using a cold-engraved process ofVenetian origin known as bottuto. The legacy of three decades of work is a large spectrum of creations ranging from tableware to installations of a sculptural and even monumental nature.Vases decorated with vaguely geo-metric abstract patterns, spheres arranged into mobiles or forming extravagant installations, clus-ters of sentries and guards celebrating the elasticity of matter: all works that capture our gaze with the magnetism of their poetic power Tucked away among these highly original works is a special category of pieces: boats, loaded with amphorae and objects culled from memory, evok-ing the migrations and the cultural stepping stones which mankind has left behind over the ages; a manna which posterity can appropriate and use to create a fresh page of history. Passionate about every facet of their art, Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg have also made their mark in the design world, creating models for illustrious firms, such as Venini, Rosenthal and Steuben. Published in collaboration with the Ariana Museum, Swiss Museum of Ceramics and Glass, this book displays the present creations of Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg, while offering a lavishly illustrated overall view of their prolific production. Five critical essays provide different viewpoints on how this exceptional pair of artists approach their work and offers insights into their way of life and the philosophy guiding them ever forward; indeed, beyond glass.

About the Author :
Isabelle Naef Galuba is director of the Ariana Museum, Swiss Museum of Ceramics and Glass, Geneva. Tina Oldknow is head curator of the modern and contemporary glass collections at the Corning Glass Museum of NewYork. Sabine Rund is assistant director and curator of the collections of applied art from the Art Nouveau period to the present day at the Frankfurt Museum of Applied Arts (Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt). Satish Kumar is chief editor and publisher of Resurgence, an English magazine concerned with environmental topics. James Yood is an essayist, theorist and contemporary art critic. He teaches history of art, art theory and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.