Glass Of Class On Show

An exhibition of exceptional glass art works will open on Saturday 18 June at the Otago Museum, featuring the latest work of young New Zealand glassmaker Luke Jacomb. Translation: New Works in Glass by Luke Jacomb shows Luke’s technical command of his medium, with the show geared to share aspects of the skills and processes involved.

The 33 year old Aucklander is a second generation glass artist. This is Luke’s first solo showing in New Zealand, previously his exhibition Seeking the Light toured through two major galleries in New Orleans and Milwaukee. To date, Luke’s work has been shown in more than 20 exhibitions within the United States, Denmark and New Zealand.

Luke uses both cast glass and glassblowing techniques, taking glass to intriguing and unexpected places far outside of conventional expectations of this medium. Taking his inspiration from Polynesian object forms, the work in this show includes interpretations of canoe paddles and fish traps – plus the centrepiece of the show, a 3 metre long canoe.

Constructed from panels of blown glass, Luke describes the canoe as ‘a labyrinth of technical difficulties - by far the most difficult object I have ever made.’ He was inspired to make it by the comment of a friend, who laughingly pointed out that he had made many canoe paddles – so where was the canoe? Luke rose to the challenge with this ambitious piece, which uses new takes on reticello, a traditional Venetian glassblowing technique, to create complex coloured patterns in the glass.

“Luke is zealous about glass work. What makes this show really exciting is his combination of fresh vision with technical capabilities that reflect mastery of skills and traditions that are centuries old” says Eleanor Ross, Otago Museum’s Content Services Coordinator.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition on Saturday 18 June, Luke will host a free public floor talk at 1pm, explaining the process, techniques and inspiration behind this latest collection of works in glass.