Solo Exhibition by Lee Brogan
Gravel Contemporary Art, Kerikeri 2009
Haunting Glass Art
by William Headley
Lee Brogan, one of New Zealands foremost glass artists is exhibiting new work in Kerikeri at Gravel Contemporary Art.
The exhibition “Full Fathom Five” presents Lee’s haunting glass works. Using the pate de verre lost wax glass casting technique Lee continues to push the boundaries of what is being done in glass.
Featured in the exhibition are two series of glass sculptures, shipwreck forms and ‘bombora’ heads, including large ‘bombora gigantes.’ ‘Bombora’ is the Aboriginal word for isolated coral heads, or the distinctive wave that breaks over them. Each head is a unique glass original, sometimes bleached white, sometimes glowing with coral pinks and mauves. They exhibit both a brittleness and strength, beauty and menace. Their forms are natural, perfectly recognizable yet hint of the alien – a hybrid species. Perhaps a lost race, or evidence of a new species.
The shipwrecks are in the form of tortured, corroded prows saturated with darkness, rust and blue. The wrecks echo the coral of the Bombora in having once contained and transported life, and sometimes harbouring death. The skeletal structure of ships – ribs and backbone, parallel the bodies of those who served and sailed in them.
The wreck ‘Ballad of the Boyd’ commemorates the bicentennial of the destruction of the Boyd in Whangaroa Harbour, the massacre of its crew and passengers and the ensuing retribution wrought by sailors on Maori.
Included in the show is a mixed media work ‘Scientific Sushi 09.’ This wryly humorous installation reflects Lee’s commitment to political and environmental issues. In this instance the Japanese determination to resume commercial whaling even under the cynical ‘ruse’ of scientific research.
At the centre of these works is Lee’s fascination with the Celtic tradition of ‘elementals’, the spirit beings said to dwell within the natural world, and the zen idea of ‘wabi sabi.’ An aesthetic that accepts beauty as imperfect, impermanent and incomplete, but unique in each object.
This award winning artist’s work can be seen at Gravel Contemporary Art, 1 Hobson Av, Kerikeri from 6 November to 2 December. Lee was overall winner of the Molly Morpeth Canaday 2008 Glass Awards.
New Glass Review 30 - 2009
One of my works from the “Bombora” series has been selected for inclusion in the yearly international publication New Glass Review 30 (2009), put out by the Corning Museum of Glass, NY. There are four international judges, Tina Oldknow the Curator of Modern Glass for Corning Museum, Dante Marioni, USA, Mieke Groote, Amsterdam and
Rachel Berwick, Rhode Island School of Design, USA. A total of 1,047 artists from 43 countries sent 2,974 images for consideration, and 100 were selected for inclusion in New Glass Review 30, so I am excited to be one of them. The publication is due out in May 2009, and the images will be part of the Corning Museum's Rakow Research Library.
The Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Awards: Glass for 2008.
"The quality of entries this year was extremely high and we would like to offer our thanks to all those that entered the awards. The final selection of twenty works for the exhibition is a testament to the craftsmanship and innovation in New Zealand glass today.
The awards selector and judge, Claire Regnault, (Concept Development Manager, The New Dowse, Lower Hutt) offered these comments at the awards ceremony on Saturday 23rd August:
“It has been a great opportunity to get a snap shot of what is happening in glass around the country and demonstrates that the sector is in great health. While many of the usual suspects were welcomely present, most excitingly there were many engaging surprises – new practitioners, new directions.
Awards shows always contain a number of equally strong works – conceptually and technically. However, when you walk away from the works, there are always one or two pieces that stay with you - that continue to resonate and captivate. I have chosen two of these works as the winners – a momento mori and a warning.”
Overall Winner ($5000)
Lee Brogan
Bombora
Pate de verre
Judges’s comment: “Fragile and powerful, both grunty and refined, Lee’s work was completely unexpected. As the award demands, it is innovative and progressive.”