Glass is a significant human invention, following a copy in nature. It is an inorganic solid material that is usually transparent or translucent as well as hard, brittle, and impervious to the natural elements. It is made by cooling molten ingredients such as silica sand with sufficient rapidity to prevent the formation of visible crystals.
The varieties of glass differ widely in chemical composition and in physical qualities. Most have certain qualities in common: they pass through a viscous stage in cooling from a state of fluidity; they develop effects of colour when the glass mixtures are fused with certain metallic oxides; they are, when cold, poor conductors both of electricity and of heat; most types are easily fractured by a blow or shock; they are but slightly affected by ordinary solvents but are readily attacked by hydrofluoric acid.
When my colleague Rainald Franz, curator of glass and ceramics at the MAK in Vienna, suggested glass as the theme for a future exhibition I accepted with my blind enthusiasm. I soon had second thoughts: apart from not being particularly competent on the subject, I was not sure I genuinely liked glass—glass can be so kitsch! As I started researching, I wondered what distinguishes a glass maker from an alchemist: turning sand and ashes into a liquid, viscose substance that becomes transparent when solid, seems as impossible as turning lead into gold.
What I soon realised though was that the formal qualities of glass are closely tied to the technique used for its formation. Glass can be moulded, formed, blown, plated, sintered, cut, engraved, painted. From the discovery of core-forming process for bead-making in ancient Egypt, through the invention of the metal blow pipe during Roman times, to the modern industrial Pilkington process for making large-scale flat glass, each new breakthrough in glass technology occurred as a result of prolonged experimentation and ingenuity, and has given rise to a new universe of possibilities for uses of the material.
No other material blends chemistry, technology, craft and art so seamlessly, which is why every designer should take up the challenge of figuring out what to do with glass. Not the least because it is almost 100% recyclable, in itself a complex and fascinating topic not fully explored yet. The twenty seven designers presented at Schloss Hollenegg address many different aspects of glass—including history, commerce and sustainability—and introduce us to different manufacturing processes, techniques and styles. I hope that it will be for you, as it has been for me, the beginning of a new love.
Text:
Rainald Franz
Photography:
LippZahnschirm
Participants:
- Antrei Hartikainen
- Christian & Jade
- Tamara Barrage
- Germans Ermics
- Tadeas Podracky
- Aleksandra Fixl + Sidonie Devienne
- Alissa Volchkova
- Anna Jozova
- Barry Llewellyn
- Clara Schweers
- Johanna Pichlbauer
- Julia Körner
- Katie Stout
- Laura Affinito
- Lenn Gerlach
- Luca Gruber
- Lucia Massari
- mischer’traxler
- Natalie Weinberger
- Philipp Weber
- Sarah Roseman
- Seungjoon Song
- Stories of Italy
- Studio Groovido
- Ursula Futura
Supported by:
