Sarinda Jones, Transpire Muted, 2009. Textured, fused, and slumped glass; steel. H 18, W 10 D 6 in.
Even within the “Art” category, serious work in glass is hard to come by when browsing the mecca for all-things-handmade that is Etsy.com. Yet, hidden among the pages of small-scale glass objects that often have their decoration painted-on is the occasional piece that announces itself as serious, ambitious, and far more carefully made. The bracing contrast between the majority of work in glass on Etsy and the organic forms of sculptor Sarinda Jones, for example, makes the discovery that much more serendipitous. Although the decades-old art-versus-craft debate has been, and continues to be, a significant and shaping aspect for many artists working in the material, the work of Jones deftly makes the leap over that often-swampy terrain in its confident display of elegance and aplomb.
Currently based in Salt Lake City and committed to what her seller profile labels a minimalist aesthetic, Jones’s sculptures are actually more reminiscent of post-minimalist work, specifically process art, with their adjoining, asymmetrical ribs of textured, fused, and slumped glass.
Sarinda Jones, Transpire Muted (Detail), 2009. Textured, fused, and slumped glass; steel. H 18, W 10 D 6 in.
There’s an abject quality to her “Transpire” series, made up of drooping, plank-like forms supported by oxidized steel stands as though they are bodies starting to sag under their own weight. Available in clear or carnelian or “muted” colored glass for $600 each, these bowed forms, with their amorphous edges, soften the hard clarity of the individual layers, resulting in objects that both lure and repel the viewer with their surfaces. That these objects can be purchased alongside kitschy painted-glass sun-catchers is a testament to the democratizing effect of our digital age—and why a sharp eye for quality is all the more important.
—Analisa Coats Bacall
