Barely Cool: John de Wit exhibits new work shortly after artist residency

John De Wit in action at the Museum of Glass hotshop where he just completed a residency.

Next week, John de Wit will unveil a new body of work at Seattle’s Foster/White Gallery, much of it just out of the annealer from his September residency at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. “Incise,” the title of de Wit’s new exhibition—refers to the techniques used in the process of creation—will debut at the Foster/White Gallery on Thursday, November 5th, and will remain on view through November 30th, 2009. In addition, De Wit will deliver an artist lecture on November 14th at 2 PM.

In a feature on De Wit in the Fall 2005 issue of GLASS Quarterly (#100), the way that the artist seeks to honor and transform nature through his art was explored in detail. In admiration of other cultures, his works are often influenced by African objects; Japanese, Chinese, and Korean ceramics; as well as Persian and Indian metal forms. He uses materials such as glass, paint, wood, copper, and galvanized wire, with glass elements created in advance (blown glass tubes, cast glass, etc.), and then proceeds to fashion objects from these often disparate elements.

John de Wit, Nebraska, 2009. Glass, copper wire, wood. H 15, W 17, D 5 in. photo: russell johnson

For his new body of work, De Wit has built upon his interest in the vessel’s surface and use as a canvas. Along with the knowledge attained in Pilchuck Glass School, the diamond lathe has become one of de Wit’s most important tools, enabling him to carve visceral qualities onto the vessel through marks and incisions made to its surface.

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