FUSE Glass Artist Residency Catalogue 2021
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GLASS ARTIST RESIDENCY<br />
Alex Valero: The Study of the Sky<br />
30 October <strong>2021</strong> - 30 January 2022<br />
Wall Gallery, Carrick Hill
Contents<br />
Introduction 2<br />
Donors 5<br />
The Study of the Sky 7<br />
Shift, and Reassemble 10<br />
by Lara Merrington<br />
Presenters 23<br />
Credits 24
Introduction<br />
JamFactory and Carrick Hill are proud<br />
to present the <strong>2021</strong> <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong><br />
<strong>Residency</strong> Exhibition.<br />
Awarded biennially in alternate years to<br />
the <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Prize, the <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong><br />
<strong>Residency</strong> aims to create significant<br />
opportunities for established, mid-career<br />
artists working in glass. The residency at<br />
JamFactory in Adelaide enables a selected<br />
artist to work with skilled assistants, take risks<br />
and experiment with the development of new<br />
work using or incorporating hot blown glass.<br />
Adelaide-based artist Alex Valero was<br />
selected from a competitive field of applicants<br />
as the inaugural recipient of the <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong><br />
<strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong> and we are grateful to the<br />
three judges who assessed the applications<br />
- venerated South Australian glass artist Nick<br />
Mount, Head of JamFactory’s <strong>Glass</strong> Studio<br />
Kristel Britcher and Carrick Hill Director<br />
Tony Kanellos.<br />
Valero has spent the last 10 years working<br />
with glass. He graduated from the University<br />
of South Australia in 2012 and completed the<br />
Associate Program at JamFactory in 2014. He<br />
currently works from an independent studio<br />
in the Adelaide CBD.<br />
As a local artist, Valero chose to undertake<br />
his residency over three intense blocks in<br />
March, August and September <strong>2021</strong>. New<br />
work developed through the residency is the<br />
focus of this solo exhibition presented in the<br />
Wall Gallery at Carrick Hill from 30 October<br />
<strong>2021</strong> to 30 January 2022.<br />
The <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong> has been<br />
developed as an extension of the successful<br />
<strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Prize. It provides a platform to<br />
encourage artists residing in Australia or<br />
New Zealand working in glass, to push<br />
themselves and their work to new limits,<br />
and to focus significant public attention on<br />
the importance of glass as a medium for<br />
contemporary artistic expression. The biennial<br />
prize, which was established by JamFactory<br />
in 2016, is a juried, non-acquisitive, $20,000<br />
cash prize for established artists. An<br />
additional prize – the David Henshall<br />
Emerging <strong>Artist</strong> Prize, valued at $5,000,<br />
is awarded to an emerging glass artist.<br />
fuseglassprize.com<br />
Grave (Intra & Ultra), 2015<br />
rod colour. Photo: Anna Fenech Harris<br />
2
Donors<br />
Thank you to our donors.<br />
The <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Prize and <strong>Residency</strong><br />
program is a shining example of how<br />
collective philanthropic support can<br />
create great opportunities for artists and<br />
add extraordinary value to the work of<br />
arts organisations.<br />
The prize evolved from conversations that<br />
began in 2014 between committed glass<br />
art collectors Jim and Helen Carreker and<br />
JamFactory. The <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Prize launched<br />
in 2016 and was funded then, as it is now,<br />
predominantly through private philanthropy<br />
and sponsorship.<br />
The <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong> Exhibition<br />
at Carrick Hill has been made possible by the<br />
additional generosity of Pamela Wall OAM<br />
and Ian Wall AM who have been committed<br />
and long-term supporters of Carrick Hill. The<br />
new purpose-built exhibition space, in which<br />
this exhibition is presented, was named the<br />
Wall Gallery in their honour.<br />
The <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Prize is supported by the<br />
following donors; Jim and Helen Carreker,<br />
the Hon Diana Laidlaw AM, David McKee AM<br />
and Pam McKee, the David & Dulcie Henshall<br />
Foundation, Pamela Wall OAM and Ian Wall<br />
AM, Susan Armitage, Sonia Laidlaw, Trina Ross<br />
and Maia Ambegaokar and Joshua Bishop.<br />
The Carrekers’ steadfast support has been<br />
ongoing. They gifted additional funds in<br />
2020 to enable significant evolution of the<br />
prize – including the development of the<br />
<strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong> in the alternate<br />
years of the prize. Most recently the Carrekers<br />
have very generously provided further funds<br />
to set up an endowment that will ensure this<br />
important new residency component will be<br />
well supported over the next ten years.<br />
With this latest commitment, the Carrekers’<br />
personal philanthropic support of <strong>FUSE</strong> has<br />
become the most significant private support<br />
in JamFactory’s history.<br />
Alex at work in the <strong>Glass</strong> Studio<br />
Photo: JamFactory<br />
5
‘The time will come when diligent research<br />
over long periods will bring to light things<br />
which now lie hidden. A single lifetime, even<br />
though entirely devoted to the study of the sky,<br />
would not be enough for the investigation<br />
of so vast a subject... And so this knowledge<br />
will be unfolded only through the long<br />
successive ages.... Let us be satisfied with what<br />
we have found out, and let our descendants<br />
also contribute something to the truth... Many<br />
discoveries are reserved for ages still to come,<br />
when memory of us will have been effaced.’<br />
The Study of the Sky<br />
The long-term future has enormous<br />
potential. In The Study of the Sky<br />
Adelaide-based glass artist Alex Valero<br />
engages with ideas relating to ‘longtermism’<br />
– a school of thought examining the effects<br />
of our actions on humanity’s vast future.<br />
Informed by arguments made by Australian<br />
philosopher Toby Ord in his book The<br />
Precipice, Valero interrogates our<br />
existential risk, the future we are failing<br />
to protect, and humanity’s potential<br />
within the cosmos.<br />
Seneca the Younger, 65CE<br />
Corrupted by Pekka Niittyvirta
Shift,<br />
and reassemble.<br />
by Lara Merrington<br />
To what ends will our minds<br />
take us? Might we comprehend for<br />
example that perhaps, the biggest<br />
threat to humanity; is us?<br />
In his infamous dystopian novel 1984 George<br />
Orwell writes “He who controls the past<br />
controls the future. He who controls the<br />
present controls the past.” As humans we<br />
are aware of time as it pertains to our own<br />
sense of being: a past, present and future that<br />
our minds can grasp. Presently, we might be<br />
aware of the signs of climate emergency, of a<br />
global pandemic, or of our increasing reliance<br />
on digital technologies. Dictated by actions<br />
of the past, the true consequences of these<br />
events are still to come in the future. And our<br />
present minds? Well, they are struggling to<br />
comprehend.<br />
Previous page: Before These Virtues There Is One Which Is Nameless, <strong>2021</strong><br />
blown and coldworked glass. Photo: Grant Hancock<br />
They Built The City Over The Graves, <strong>2021</strong><br />
blown glass. Photo: Grant Hancock<br />
10
In his latest solo exhibition, The Study of the<br />
Sky, Adelaide-based artist Alex Valero<br />
extends on the complexity of these ideas.<br />
His physical reinterpretations, made<br />
predominantly in the timeless medium of<br />
glass, are a narrative tale of humanity,<br />
time, cause and effect.<br />
Valero first became fascinated by the medium<br />
of glass and the challenges of working with it<br />
through his studies at the University of South<br />
Australia. Completing his Visual Arts degree,<br />
with a specialisation in glass, he went on to<br />
progress his skills in studio and production<br />
work as a JamFactory <strong>Glass</strong> Studio Associate<br />
in 2013–2014. A passion and skill for<br />
experimenting with surface saw him win the<br />
<strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Emerging <strong>Artist</strong> Prize in 2016<br />
with his work Grave (Infra & Ultra), which he<br />
followed up with his first solo exhibition A<br />
Grey Mirror at JamFactory in 2017. He used<br />
glass as the primary vessel for what would<br />
be an ongoing exploration into the human<br />
psyche, alongside installations of sketches,<br />
digital media, sculpture and light.<br />
Valero is the inaugural recipient of the <strong>FUSE</strong><br />
<strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong>. During his residency<br />
at JamFactory’s <strong>Glass</strong> Studio in <strong>2021</strong>, Valero<br />
was afforded the freedom to experiment<br />
and develop these previously explored<br />
techniques. Experimenting with materials<br />
in unconventional ways and pushing and<br />
combining techniques, he was able to use the<br />
glass workshop to incite new curiosities and<br />
perspectives. Valero is an artist that has now<br />
become recognised for his experimental<br />
approaches and technical versatility in glass.<br />
It is his inquisitive mind that is a key element<br />
in the continuous drive to expand the<br />
possibilities of the material.<br />
Shifting from the intimate contemplations<br />
of the mind of his earlier work, in The Study<br />
of the Sky Valero’s practice expands and<br />
explores bigger concepts of a collective<br />
mind, paired with more complex installations.<br />
His deep interest in philosophy and science<br />
informs the objects, installations and images<br />
on display, acting as monument and<br />
memento to the chaotic yet utopic<br />
possibilities of humanity.<br />
Victory Over Craft, 2015<br />
hot formed and coldworked glass. Photo: the artist<br />
13
At the outset of the exhibition stands a<br />
configuration of small, solid glass obelisks.<br />
Representing a speculative set of virtues<br />
we might adopt for the future survival<br />
of civilisation, they are made from two<br />
cylindrical, blown glass forms fused<br />
together, one inside of the other. Their<br />
outer surfaces are cut away with the lathe<br />
in the cold-working process, to reveal new,<br />
inner surfaces, or to make vulnerable the<br />
virtue of our more honest behaviours perhaps.<br />
In a more literal approach, the three wall<br />
mounted tablets Before These Virtues There<br />
Is One Which Is Nameless similarly suggest a<br />
set of rules for humanity, however these are<br />
informed by the past. The Litany of Tarski, the<br />
Litany of Gendlin, and the Twelve Virtues of<br />
Rationality are formulations on the imperative<br />
to love truth over falsehood.<br />
Moving through a sort-of disjointed<br />
chronology, the exhibition starts to evoke<br />
a David Lynch-like scenography–a surreal<br />
sort of alternate reality. Yet, for all of Valero’s<br />
scientific interest-it is not science fiction he<br />
is channelling here. Speculative realities,<br />
notions of collapse and resurgence, are not<br />
far from our present and past realities. There<br />
is a sense of being a witness, or maybe a<br />
pawn, in something bigger than us. Are<br />
we on the edge of it, or has it already<br />
taken place?<br />
Megaannum Conference, <strong>2021</strong><br />
blown and coldworked glass. Photo: Grant Hancock<br />
14
Alex at work in the <strong>Glass</strong> Studio<br />
Photo: JamFactory<br />
The Built The Graves Over The City, <strong>2021</strong><br />
blown glass. Photo: Grant Hancock
Glowing invitingly, the grouping of chalices<br />
filled with uranium glass are a tempting,<br />
yet ominous invitation to drink. That<br />
poisoned apple analogy taps into a human<br />
weakness for short-term desire over long<br />
term fulfilment. More broadly, there is a<br />
reference towards our unstable futures in<br />
direct relation to our consumerist present.<br />
Like the grand overseer of the exhibition,<br />
Red Noise, a galaxy of kilnformed hexagons,<br />
is both commanding in scale, and in its<br />
reference to our place in the cosmos. Moving<br />
us out of the mind and back to the physical<br />
body, it is a reminder that we are but dust in<br />
an unfathomable expanse. Waste, reiterates<br />
this feeling. Great Waste arranged upon the<br />
wall resemble the collage of images seen in<br />
the Hubble Deep Field. Lustre beseeches<br />
darkness. Despair is cloaked in glimmerings<br />
of hope. A distorted reflection of the self<br />
in another time perhaps? Or a glimpse into<br />
another reality? Valero is referencing Nick<br />
Bostrom’s concept of Astronomical Waste.<br />
The final work, providing some relief, brings us<br />
back to earth and our roots, Ghost Procession,<br />
an egg-shaped vessel signifies our debt to<br />
past generations.<br />
Ultimately, Valero asks us to question our<br />
human part within a chaotic contemporary<br />
world. Far from the Orwellian dystopia of<br />
1984, instead he proposes suspicions for<br />
humanity’s potential to flourish, should we<br />
think about it right. Motivated by a concern<br />
for the long-term future of humanity, he<br />
provides us with small monuments for larger<br />
contemplations. Do we have an obligation<br />
to be good ancestors or stewards of our<br />
biosphere? What is the potential for the<br />
long-term future of humanity? Can we shift?<br />
Reassemble? And if so, are we up to<br />
the challenge?<br />
Previous Page: Red Noise, <strong>2021</strong><br />
cast and kiln-fired glass. Photo: Grant Hancock<br />
Hivemelt, <strong>2021</strong><br />
blown and coldworked glass. Photo: Grant Hancock<br />
20
Presenters<br />
JamFactory<br />
JamFactory is a unique not-for-profit<br />
organisation located in the Adelaide city<br />
centre and at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa.<br />
It is recognised nationally and internationally<br />
as a centre for excellence in glass, ceramics,<br />
furniture and metal design.<br />
JamFactory’s shops, exhibitions, public<br />
programs and touring exhibitions promote<br />
the best Australian craft and design talent.<br />
All purchases made from JamFactory directly<br />
support our training and exhibition program.<br />
JamFactory’s <strong>Glass</strong> Studio is the longest<br />
running hot glass facility in Australia and one<br />
of the largest and best equipped studios in<br />
the Southern Hemisphere. Associates and<br />
staff, guided by current Studio Head Kristel<br />
Britcher, work together to design and make<br />
corporate awards and gifts, custom one-off<br />
commissions, architectural work and small<br />
production runs. Associates are also mentored<br />
in the development of their own work and are<br />
exposed to the many professional artists who<br />
use the facility to create their work. Through<br />
its Associate training program JamFactory<br />
has trained well over 100 glass artists from<br />
across Australia and around the world.<br />
Carrick Hill<br />
Carrick Hill is a significant South Australian<br />
cultural icon and tourism attraction. It<br />
comprises a major heritage building, being<br />
the previous home of Sir Edward and Lady<br />
Ursula Hayward, now an exquisite house<br />
museum displaying an internationally<br />
significant art and furniture collection.<br />
The house sits within a 40 hectare estate,<br />
part landscaped and part native bushland;<br />
with original subsidiary buildings such as<br />
stables and eclectic sculptures scattered<br />
throughout the rambling grounds and<br />
gardens; The property is located close to<br />
the city of Adelaide, in the Adelaide foothills,<br />
with spectacular views stretching to Gulf<br />
St Vincent.<br />
Carrick Hill is fortunate to be one of the<br />
few period homes in Australia to survive<br />
with its original contents almost completely<br />
intact and its grounds undiminished. The<br />
collection contains many significant<br />
architectural and decorative glass objects<br />
including items from Tiffany and Lalique.<br />
In <strong>2021</strong> a new exhibition space – the Wall<br />
Gallery – was created in the loft of the main<br />
house as part of major renovations<br />
COMM, 2017<br />
hot sculpted and coldworked glass. Photo: Grant Hancock<br />
23
First Published in Adelaide, Australia in <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Published to coincide with the <strong>2021</strong> <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong><br />
<strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong> Exhibition, The Study of the Sky,<br />
shown at the Wall Gallery, Carrick Hill, Adelaide<br />
from 30 October <strong>2021</strong> - 30 January 2022.<br />
Published by JamFactory, 19 Morphett Street,<br />
Adelaide SA 5000<br />
All rights reserved. No part of this publication<br />
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system<br />
or transmitted in any form or by any means<br />
without the prior permission in writing from<br />
the publisher. Please forward all enquiries to<br />
contact@jamfactory.com.au<br />
© JamFactory, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Copyright for texts in this publication is held by<br />
JamFactory and the authors. Copyright on all<br />
works of art featured belongs to the individual<br />
artist. All images, unless otherwise credited,<br />
are courtesy of the artists. Copyright for<br />
photographic images is held by the individual<br />
photographers as acknowledged.<br />
ISBN 978-0-6483290-9-1<br />
Exhibition Curator: Rebecca Freezer<br />
Essay: Lara Merrington<br />
<strong>Catalogue</strong> Designer: Sophie Guiney<br />
JamFactory supports and promotes outstanding<br />
contemporary craft and design through its widely<br />
acclaimed studios, galleries and shops. A unique<br />
not-for-profit organisation located in the<br />
Adelaide city centre and Seppeltsfield in the<br />
Barossa. JamFactory is supported by the South<br />
Australian Government and recognised both<br />
nationally and internationally as a centre<br />
for excellence.<br />
JamFactory acknowledges the support of the<br />
South Australian Government through the<br />
Department of Innovation and Skills and the<br />
assistance of the Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy,<br />
an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory<br />
Governments. JamFactory’s Exhibitions Program<br />
is also assisted by the Australian Government<br />
through the Australia Council.<br />
JamFactory gratefully acknowledges the<br />
generous donors of the <strong>2021</strong> <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong><br />
<strong>Residency</strong>; Jim and Helen Carreker<br />
and Pamela Wall OAM and Ian Wall AM<br />
and the <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> Prize; Jim and Helen Carreker,<br />
the Hon Diana Laidlaw AM, David McKee AM<br />
and Pam McKee, the David & Dulcie Henshall<br />
Foundation, Pamela Wall OAM and Ian Wall AM,<br />
Susan Armitage, Sonia Laidlaw, Trina Ross and<br />
Maia Ambegaokar and Joshua Bishop.<br />
JamFactory also acknowledges the generosity<br />
of the supporting sponsors and presenting<br />
partners for the <strong>2021</strong> <strong>FUSE</strong> <strong>Glass</strong> <strong>Artist</strong> <strong>Residency</strong>:<br />
24