Glass as a Fine Art Medium

Glass as a Fine Art Medium: History and Practice

Date: 7 November 2024 (Thursday)
Time: 4:30-6pm
Venue: CPD-3.15, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Speaker: Dr. Goshka Bialek 

Abstract

The lecture explores the role of glass as a medium in the fine arts rather than as a craft form. It includes a short history of glass as an art medium, the development of glass technologies and their application in the field of fine art. It reflects the distinctiveness of glass as a sculptural medium due to its optical properties and transparency; glass’s inherent characteristics create the unique possibility of using the space both outside and inside a solid object. This talk, furthermore, demonstrates the importance of specific individuals in bringing glass as a fine art medium to the fore. Also how well-known sculptors such as Ai Weiwei, Tony Cragg, Olafur Eliasson, Louise Bourgeois applied the medium.

Speaker

Goshka Bialek, a sculptor, educator, animator, and researcher, is known for her innovative approach to art. She works with various techniques and media, particularly transparent and translucent materials, often using new technologies to explore truth and internal space in sculpture.

She holds a BA, MA, and PhD in Fine Arts, specialising in sculpture, ceramics, and glass from the UK, and an MSc in Economic Cybernetics and Computer Science from the University of Warsaw, Poland. She has had the opportunity to exhibit her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions on most continents, teaching and collaborating with many academies, universities and research institutes worldwide, such as Caltech NASA Laboratory. Her sculptures in public spaces can be seen in Tehran, London, Edinburgh, Moscow, Krakow, and Poznan.