Pauline Solven
My fused glass wall pieces may appear geometric but are derived from the real world - they incorporate architectural elements, roofs, eves, quoins and corners, the internal, the external,
the steep and the flat, reflecting structural and spacial environments in a dynamic way. I am contrasting reflected and absorbed light, sometimes transmitted light, exploring bright and dark spaces, how the atmosphere of a situation, perhaps a specific edifice, is affected by ambient light conditions. I use opaque and transparent glass, in combination with sandblast and fire-polished surface treatments - transparent sections for instance draw you in, like entering a building, suggesting another dimension; other areas disguise what’s inside, indicating elements of mystery.
Born 1943, London
Education
1970-75 Resident member,The Glasshouse
1961-65 Stourbridge College of Art (NDD Glass)
1965-68 Royal College of Art (M Des RCA Glass)
Awards
2009 Shortlisted,Charmian Adams Award,New Brewery Arts Open Competition,Cirencester
2000 Corning Museum-New Glass Review No 21
1998 Honourable Mention.International Exhibition Glass,Kanazawa,Japan
1996 Corning Museum-New Glass Review No 17
1993 Corning Museum-New Glass Review No 14
1983 Craft Award,South West Arts
1978 British Design Council Index
1977 Commendation,Coburg Glass Prize Exhibitions
1975 Bursary,West Midlands Arts
1975 Equipment Grant,British Crafts Council
1971 C.A.C. (British Crafts Council) Index Collections
Recent Exhibitions
2009 Open, New Brewery Arts, Cirencester
Melting Point Pyramid Gallery, York
2008 The Glasshouse and its Tree , Contemporary Applied Arts, London
Autumn Show Cowdy Gallery, Newent
2007 Collect Dan Klein at Adrian Sassoon,V & A Museum.
New Work by Gallery Artists Cowdy Gallery, Newent
2006 British Glass Biennnale, Ruskin Glass Centre, Stourbridge
2004 Suspended in Light, Rufford Craft Centre,Newark
2004 Collect Crafts Council, V&A Museum, London
2003 All That Glisters Is Not Gold, Six Chapel Row Gallery, Bath
2003 30/30 Vision Crafts Council,London, UK
2003 Nine Colourways Blackwell House,Bowness-on-Windermere
2001 Cowdy Gallery,Newent
Public Collections
Corning Museum of Glass, New York; Ulster Museum, BeIfast; Museum of South Australia; Broadfield House Glass Museum, Kingswinford; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Castle Museum, Norwich; Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead; Otago Museum, New Zealand; Crafts Council Collection, London; Howarth Art Gallery, Accrington; City Museum, Bristol; St Helens Museum & Art Gallery; Museum of Veste Coburg, Germany; Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague; Castle Museum, Nottingham; Stoke-on-Trent Museum & Art Gallery; Glass Museum, Denmark; North West Arts Collection; Volvo Collection, Sweden; Brandt Contemporary Glass, Sweden; City Museum, Portsmouth; Cowdy Collection, Newent; Liverpool Museum; Dan Klein & Alan J. Poole (Private Collection), TSB Group PLC Corporate Collection, London
Publications
Judith Neiswander/Caroline Swash,STAINED & ART GLASS, Intelligent Layman, 2006
Judith Miller, 20th CENTURY GLASS, Dorling Kindersley 2005
Judith Miller, COLLECTABLES PRICE GUIDE 2005, Dorling Kindersley 2005
Lucartha Kohler, WOMEN WORKING IN GLASS, Schiffer, 2003
Graham McLaren, STUDIO GLASS 1960 - 2000, Shire 2002
Fynn Lynggaard, THE STORY OF STUDIO GLASS, Rhodos 1998. Author - British chapter.
Peter Layton, GLASS ART, Black/Washington 1996
Susanne K Frantz, CONTEMPORARY GLASS, Abrams 1989
Dan Klein, GLASS, A CONTEMPORARY ART, Collins 1989
DESIGN AND DESIGNING, Longman 1988
GUIDE TO COURSES AND CAREERS IN ART, NSEAD 1985