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John Bisbee and Scupltures

"Helio"

"Naill", above

"Cocoon"

December, 2007


Helios I, 2007, b
Blown glass, approx 6' x 6' x 3'
by Eric Hopkins, photographed at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens by Bill Thuss.

Fall, 2007

(cont) . . .

The exhibit aptly named “Bright Common Nail” is a marvelous exhibition that features 25 pieces of Bisbee’s work that range from small objects created during his earlier years to the large wall installations pieces that adorn the walls of the museum galleries and are his current projects.

This is a most fitting show for the State of Maine where the brad, nail and spike are a powerful part of our state’s history that has applied wood construction in the building of structures and boats over the past 250 years. Afterall, it is these industries that depend on the use of the bright common nail. John Bisbee with his ingenuity, whimsy and complex designing has elevated the everyday, common nail to a new level. Hence the name of the show, “Bright Common Spike”. This over the top, energetic show is the most phenomenal installation project that has ever adorned the walls of the PMA. Organic, and energetic some of the newer large-scale pieces climb the walls like vines, while other pieces from his recent work are randomly piled up in corners looking like an abandoned welder’s unfinished project. Don’t be fooled. As one gets closer to the pieces they reveal depth, sophistication and a deep understanding of design. Other pieces snake across the floor giving the appearance of a show still in the stages of being installed. Big and playful the larger pieces embrace years of experimentation that reflect an artist who is very comfortable with his medium.

Closer examination of each of the 25 pieces in the show represents a carefully executed and complex piece of sculpture that embodies intelligence towards design and sensitivity to the “Bright Common Spike”. Bisbee’s skill as a welder and designer makes for smooth, professional construction that would be the envy of any tradesman. He knows what he is doing! Literally tons of brads, nails and spikes make up the combined weight of this great show. The exhibit is also pleasant and insightful journey into John Bisbee’s language of form, pattern and mass. The show also includes a video documentary of Bisbee’s recent installation at the Bonnaroo Music Festival which is a work of art onto itself. John Bisbee has taken the ordinary and transformed it into clever sculptural pieces that are a feast for the eyes.  The exhibit will pull at your emotions and leave you a happier than when you walked in. A great uplift for the winter doldrums and Maine’s upcoming mud season. Don’t miss this show.

Winter, 2007
"A Gathering of Contemporary Glass” / Farnsworth Museum
Rockland, Maine
Until February 17, 2008

The current star-studded show at the Farnsworth Museum is a feast for the eyes. This first-rate show highlights the work of many of the pioneers of the modern glass scene in the US, their symbiotic relationship, and the role that Maine played in the movement.

Our friend, Eric Hopkins, who was one of the pioneers of this group, invited us to the opening of this show last month. What a dazzling display of color, form and creativity! The galleries are alive with the works of masters of the US glass movement such as Dale Chihuly, Ben Coombs, Sonja Blomdahl, Robin Cass, Harvey Littleton, Dudley Giberson and  Maine’s prolific painter, glass artisan and sculptor, Eric Hopkins.

Sculptural glass  by nature is a very approachable medium so even the most museum resistant individual will find this show interesting, provocative and worth the visit. We encourage everyone to take the time to visit if you are in Rockland.

This beautiful collection exhibited at the venerable Farnsworth Museum is especially significant to Maine and the American modern glass movement because of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle. Before the glass movement was blossoming in the 70’s and 80’s, the Haystack School of crafts in Deer  Isle was already playing  a significant role. In 1964 Francis Merrit, the founder of the school, had arranged for the furnace from the World Craft Council of NY to be transported to Haystack on Deer Isle. The school installed the furnace and constructed a hot shop which at the time put the school at the epicenter of nascent American modern glass movement. Dale Chihuly, who at the time was teaching glass making techniques at Rhode Island School of Design, came to Haystack and helped develop the glass program over the course of four summers. A number of his students from RISD followed him to Maine where friendships flourished and unbridled energy set the course for a new generation of American glass artisans. His experimental glass sculptures, wildness and intensely expressive style captivated his students who adopted, deconstructed and experimented for the summer months. It was these experiences at Haystack that led to the creation of a core group of American artisans who contributed to and eventually became the leaders in the modern American glass movement. Most of these artists eventually worked in mediums other than glass, but the fluidity, expression and freedom that glass offered them in the creation process gave them an opportunity to apply that expression with other mediums as their work evolved.

It is a number of these artists who today are represented in this current show, “A Gathering of Contemporary Glass”.

In consideration of the connections between Haystack, RISD, and Maine’s role the Farnsworth built this exhibition around those themes. The wild, unpredictable landscape of Maine on the craggy coast certainly affected each of these young artists. However, it was the purpose of being in Maine, as a group, at a particular time that can never again be repeated that was the theme. That energy, symbiosis and creativity is beautifully told in this amazing spectacle of a show.

The show is a dazzling array of light, color and form that is a veritable feast for the eyes. Each piece is an integral part of the interesting, compelling and vital story of the modern American glass movement that was lead by Chihuly and his peers with their sense of adventure and experimentation. The galleries are filled with an amazing array of color, texture and shapes that lets the imagination, emotions and senses run wild. The show purposefully does not explain any of the technical procedures, but instead allows the visitors to travel wistfully and without abandon in one’s own head. Glass by nature is delicate, so the transformative qualities that each of these pieces takes on allows us to see colors, shapes and depth that have evolved in the American glass movement over the past forty or so years.

The sculpture exhibit takes place indoors, but do not overlook Eric Hopkin’s creation, Helios 1, which is an installation piece in the outdoor gardens. At night it is illuminated from within and looks like a sea anemone that had gently washed up from the nearby Rockland Harbor. During the day, it takes on the quality of a delicate, oversized flower that looks remarkably comfortable in the wintry landscape. Not to be missed.

This is worth a trip to the Farnsworth no matter where in Maine you live. The spectacle of colors and smooth forms will warm you up on the chilliest of winter days. Our hats off to the Farnsworth for putting together this great show.

Fall, 2007
Colby Museum of Art's Gifts

Colby Museum of Art, located in Waterville at Colby college, announced in May that it received a private art collection worth more than $100 million from Peter and Paula Lunders, longtime Waterville residents who had deep ties with Colby and the state of Maine.

This important collection will shape Colby’s Museum of Art legacy and the state’s cultural landscape for generations of Mainers to come.