FUSE Glass Prize 2022
2022 Winners
Take a tour of the 2022 Exhibition
Watch the 2022 Winner’s Announcement
Matthew Curtis
Winner - Established Artist Category
Curtis is based in Queanbeyan, NSW at a home-studio where he and his partner Harriet Schwarzrock run a vibrant glassblowing studio and arts practice. As a visual artist with a material practice concerned with glass, Curtis is fascinated by the production of objects inspired by the minutia of architectural structures in nature. Having relished an informal apprenticeship in glassblowing whilst assisting at Denizen Glass in Sydney in the early 1990’s, Curtis has since exhibited extensively throughout Australia and regularly at international art fairs and exhibitions. Refining his eye for detail whilst expanding his material knowledge, Curtis has focused his practice on researching and experimenting unconventional approaches to extend his understanding of traditional techniques. Over the course of his career, Curtis has developed a rigorous approach to his work and his affinity, dexterity, and experience with manipulating glass is extensive. He is particularly interested in capturing a depth and complexity to the blown and cast glass components featured in his work, with the hues of transparent colours fading and gathering in intensity depending on the depth or delicate edge of the piece.
Judge Cobi Cockburn says “Matthew Curtis’s totemic sculptural work exudes a deep understanding of the material properties of glass and incorporates a variety of techniques. The piece holds light within while the brightness of colour and levels of translucency change and delight as you move around the form.”
Margin, 2022
blown tinted glass, carved, aluminium
560 x 150 x 740
Photo: Rob Little
Bronte Cormican-Jones
2022 David Henshall Emerging Artist Prize Winner
Bronte Cormican-Jones is an emerging contemporary visual artist and writer living and working in Sydney on the traditional lands of the Garrigal and Darramuragal people. She completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts (majoring in Sculpture and English) at the University of Sydney’s Sydney College of the Arts in 2021 and is currently undertaking Honours in Visual Arts at the Sydney College of the Arts. In her visual arts practice, Cormican-Jones often explores the field of spatial practice through her sculptural works, installation, performance and documented works. She is drawn to glass and the industrial materials of steel, bricks and timber, and is interested in the way that these materials are used in architecture and the infrastructure of the world around us. With these interests as a foundation, Cormican-Jones understands glass as a material that frames our perception of and interaction with space: a transparent membrane from which windows, doors and (in contemporary architecture) walls are constructed. Cormican-Jones is particularly drawn to the ways in which glass can both hold and reflect light, with her current body of work exploring the way that we interact with our reflections in panes of glass.
Judge Brian Parkes said of Bronte’s work, “It is very rare to see such superb attention to detail from an artist so early in their career. But it is so absolutely critical to do so if you are going to work with a precise, minimal formal language… this work is exquisitely executed and its bodily scale gives it a captivating presence in space.”
Sightlines, 2021
cold-worked float glass, timber
1350 x 800 x 1600
Photo: Bronte Cormican-Jones and Remi Siciliano
2022 Finalists - Emerging Artist Category
Alexandra Hirst (SA)
Alexandra Hirst is a South Australian based glass artist whose work spans glassblowing, glass casting and installation. While obtaining her Bachelor of Visual Arts (Sculpture) at University of New South Wales Art and Design, Hirst was exposed to glassblowing through an international exchange program at Alfred University in New York, USA (2013). She was instantly drawn to the complexity, materiality and the collaborative nature of glass craft. In 2019, Hirst completed her Masters in Glass at the Edinburgh College of Art in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she learned to incorporate digital technologies with traditional glassblowing and casting techniques. Following her studies, Hirst joined the JamFactory’s Associate Program in the Glass Studio, where she continues to grow her artistic practice. Hirst’s work is heavily inspired by the repetitive patterns and cycles of the natural world. The transparency and optical qualities of glass make it the perfect medium to explore these themes – whether through layered colourations, etchings, installations or 3D printed cast glass sculptures. Hirstwas a finalist in the emerging artist category of the FUSE Glass Prize in 2020 with her 3D printed cast glass artwork Building Blocks (2018).
Fractals, 2021
3D printed cast glass
280 x 190 x 170
Photo: Pippy Mount
Bronwyn Sargeson (ACT)
Bronwyn Sargeson is an artist who primarily works with glass. Raised in Canberra on Ngunnawal/Ngambri country, Bronwyn completed a Bachelor of Visual Art majoring in Glass (2021) at the Australian National University’s School of Art and Design. Bronwyn was the recipient of multiple Emerging Artist Support Scheme Awards in 2021, including a residency at the Canberra Glassworks. She has completed workshops by leading artists within the field in Canberra and Adelaide and currently lives and works in Canberra. Bronwyn regularly assists local, national and international artists of a high calibre and is part of the Exhibition Install and Registration teams at the National Gallery of Australia.
Circularene, 2022
blown + cold worked glass, synthetic cord, flocking powder
600 x 200 x 280
Photo: Brenton McGeachie
Jianzhen Wu (SA)
Born in Dongguan, China, Jianzhen Wu (Shirley) is an emerging artist based in Adelaide. Wu completed a Master of Design (Contemporary Art) at the University of South Australia (2019). Previously she studied a Bachelor of Arts in Jewellery & Metalwork (Honours) at Middlesex University, England (2009–2013). Her practice encompasses jewellery and object design, glass sculpture and installation work. Wu utilises lampworking, moulding, casting, metalsmithing and stone carving techniques. Informed by her holistic training in Hong Kong (2015–2016), Wu’s creative process is a journey of healing and meditation. Wu was the recipient of the Canberra Glassworks Graduate in Residence (2021). She was a finalist for the MilanoVetro-35, Castello Sforzesco, Milan (2020); Vicki Torr Emerging Artist Prize, AUSGLASS (2020), and the National Emerging Art Glass Prize, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery (2020).
Infusion, 2022
flameworked borosilicate glass, Eucalyptus cneorifolia essential oil, sola wood (Aeschynomene aspera), cotton thread, reed and silicone.
150 x 1600 x 400
Photo: Michael Hains
Michelle Stewart (VIC)
Michelle Stewart completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Gold and Silversmithing) at RMIT University (Hons) (2017) after gaining an Advanced Diploma in Engineering (Jewellery) at Melbourne Polytechnic (2011). Her commitment to a minimal impact practice translates to a considered approach to making and materials. Her work, which includes installation, small sculpture and environmental art, employs recycled materials, primarily glass. Steward has been working with this medium since 2008 and often uses the pâte de verre method of glassworking. Her work carries an environmental bias that explores notions of health, connectivity, symbiotic relationships and the future of humanity. Stewart was an artist-in-residence at Ayatana’s Biophilium in Ontario, Canada (2018). She received the Arte Laguna Sustainability and Art: Art Reuse Sustainability of Glass Award, Venice (2018). Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and the USA.
Carbon Chains (III & IV), 2022
bottle glass
300 x 700 x 10
Photo: Fred Kroh
Rose-Mary Faulkner (NSW)
Rose-Mary Faulkner is an emerging glass artist based in Canberra. She completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Glass) at the Australian National University’s School of Art and Design (2016). She was a finalist in the Megalo International Print Prize, Canberra (2020); Klaus Moje Glass Award, Canberra Glassworks (2019); and Emerge, Bullseye Projects, Portland, USA (2018). She was awarded the National Emerging Art Glass Prize, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery (2018), which facilitated a 6-week intensive residency at Northlands Creative in Lybster, Scotland (2018). Faulkner is a regular exhibitor at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, including her first solo show PROFILE (2018), and Some things I am sure of with printmaker Siobhan O’Connor (2021). Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Berlin, Japan and the USA. Faulkner is currently a tenant at Canberra Glassworks and a sessional teacher at the ANU's School of Art and Design Glass Workshop.
Neon Study 1, 2020
kiln formed glass with decal imagery, neon tubing with argon mercury gas,
275 x 3 x 440
Photo: David Paterson
2022 Finalists - Established Artist Category
Alex Valero (SA)
Alex Valero studied a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Glass) at the University of South Australia. He went onto further his skills in glassblowing as a JamFactory Glass Studio Associate (2013–2014). Through his glass practice, Valero grapples with ideas at the frontier of philosophy. His sculptural glass challenges craft tradition, and seeks to discover new technologies and aesthetic possibilities for the material. Valero’s work reflects his curiosity about the universe and humanity’s place within it. Valero was the inaugural recipient of the FUSE Glass Artist Residency (2020) resulting in the major solo exhibition, Alex Valero: The Study of the Sky, at Carrick Hill, Adelaide (2021). He was the winner of the FUSE Glass Prize Emerging Artist Category (2016).
Megaannum Conference, 2021
blown and coldworked glass
100 x 100 x 130-220
Photo: Grant Hancock
Drew Spangenberg (SA)
Drew Spangenberg completed a Bachelor of Visual Art (Glass) at the University of South Australia (2013) before undertaking the Associate Training Program at JamFactory (2014–2015). Spangenberg creates stand-alone pieces with practical possibilities. His first solo exhibition Equipoise, Worth Gallery, Adelaide (2019), included lighting, large bottles and goblets. As a musician, he feels a connection between playing music and the rhythm and coordination required in the glass blowing process. He arranges glass vessels into complementary compositions as he would a piece of music. Spangenberg was the recipient of the Australian Design Institute Glass Award (2014). He was short-listed for the Klaus Moje Glass Award (2019); Drink, Dine, Design Award (2015)
Curvilinear Ensemble, 2022
blown glass
900 x 500 x 500
Photo: Pippy Mount
Hannah Gason (ACT)
Originally from Victoria, Hannah Gason moved to Canberra to work as a cartographer. After an introduction to glass through a number of workshops, Gason completed a Bachelor of Visual Art (Honours) at the Australian National University School of Art and Design (2015), where she won a University Medal. Reflecting her interest in mapping, Gason’s work explores depth, light and perspective. Through the use of kiln forming processes, she creates works that explore the illusion of depth through the careful placement of glass tiles with their shifting tones. Her works play with reception and fluidity to suggest rhythm and a constantly moving, changing surface.
Gason has travelled widely as an artist and has been an artist in residence, teaching assistant and visiting artist at the Bullseye Glass Company, Portland, USA; Berlin Glas, Berlin, Germany; Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA and North Lands Creative Glass, Lybster, Scotland. Working from her studio at the Canberra Glassworks, Gason has exhibited nationally and internationally with work housed in the Australian Parliament House Art Collection, the Australian National Art Glass Collection and the ANU Art Collection.
Brushed, 2020
kilnformed glass
1120 x 20 x 550
Photo: Greg Piper
Janice Vitkovsky (SA)
Janice Vitkovsky began her studies at the University of South Australia, attaining a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Glass and Ceramics) (1999). She went on to complete the Associate Program at JamFactory’s Glass Studio (2001) and a Bachelor of Visual Art (Honours) (Glass) at the Australian National University (2005). Vitkovsky’s artwork focuses on conveying a sense of impermanence, constructing intricate patterns to form ambiguous landscapes in glass. Exploring the historic murrine technique to compose detailed pattern, her work combines both hot and cold glass processes while pursuing new applied techniques with the medium. Her practice includes teaching, participating in national and international artist residency programs, and assisting other artists. Vitkovsky’s work has been acquired for many important public and private collections worldwide, and has been included in exhibitions in Australia, Asia, Germany and the USA.
Formation, 2022
glass
580 x 15 x 530
Photo: Pippy Mount
Jason Sims (SA)
Jason Sims works in the realm of perceptual art. He creates walls works, free-standing sculptures, large-scale installations and public artworks that create simple illusions of space and form. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from the University of South Australia (2006), Sims has exhibited across Australia, Hong Kong, the USA, the UK and Europe. His work is held in public and private collections, including Artbank, the Art Gallery of Western Australia and Gippsland Art Gallery. He won the People’s Choice Award in the Hobart Art Prize (2014) and The Advertiser’s Contemporary Art Prize (2015) as part of the South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA). Sims presented a significant body of new work as part of The Collections Project at the AGSA (2015). He held his first solo show in the USA, Spatial Acuity, Madison Gallery, Solana Beach, USA (2018) and produced a large-scale installation for a major survey of Australian art at the Art Gallery of Ballarat (2018).
Sims is represented by MARS Gallery in Melbourne; HOFA Gallery in London, UK, Palm Beach, USA and Mykonos, Greece; and ARTITLED Contemporary in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
On The Horizon, 2020
glass, powder coated steel, aluminium, LED lights and electronics
1060 x 90 x 1060
Photo: Pippy Mount
Jess Dare (SA)
Contemporary jeweller Jess Dare completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Jewellery) at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts, TAFE SA (2006). Dare has been practicing flameworking for over 17 years, having been taught by local and international glass artists. For Dare, glass now forms an integral part of her practice. She became a partner of the celebrated Gray Street Workshop in 2010. Dare has undertaken international residencies researching the floral culture in Bangkok, Thailand (2014) and Shanghai, China (2015). In 2016–2017, she worked closely with Professor Richard Johnson to create a permanent memorial in Sydney’s Martin Place symbolising the spontaneous sea of flowers laid by thousands of people following the December 2014 Martin Place siege in the Lindt Café. Dare exhibits nationally and internationally and is represented in major national collections including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the National Art Glass Gallery.
Inheritance, 2020
soft glass, cotton, foam, vintage box, copper
900 x 400 x 50
Photo: Grant Hancock
Kathryn Wightman (NZ)
Kathryn Wightman began working with glass as a student at the University of Sunderland, England, where she obtained a Bachelor of Art (Glass and Ceramics) (2000), followed by a Master of Arts (Glass) (2005). In 2006, Wightman was awarded a Craft Council placement to assist in establishing a creative practice. This led to PhD research undertaken at the University of Sunderland (2012), funded by the Arts Humanities Research Council, UK, focusing on the integration of glassmaking and printmaking processes. Since completing research, Wightman has undertaken work as a visiting lecturer at the University of Sunderland and has also worked as a glassmaker at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland. In 2012, Wightman relocated to New Zealand to become a glass lecturer at the Wanganui Glass School. Since relocating to New Zealand, she has won the Academic Gold Award at the Emerge Glass Prize (2014), the Ranamok Glass Prize (2014), the Young Glass Kvadrat Prize (2017) and the Whanganui Arts Review (2018). Previously a finalist in the FUSE Glass prize 2016, 2018 and 2020, her work has also been selected for New Glass Review 33, 37 and 38. Wightman delivers workshops around the world and lectures in multiple creative areas across the University College of Learning Whanganui School of Creative Industries.
The Space In-Between, 2022
glass, foamed pvc, steel
1500 x 1500 x 1400
Photo: Kathryn Wightman
Liam Fleming (SA)
Liam Fleming is a Tarntanya (Adelaide) based glassblower, artist and designer with an active practice of over ten years. He is an Alumni of the University of South Australia’s visual arts program (2011) and JamFactory’s prestigious Associate Program in the Glass Studio (2013), where he has served as the Production Manager since 2015. Fleming has completed a number of residencies around the world, including in Murano, Italy and Oaxaca, Mexico, and nationally at Canberra Glassworks. Exhibiting both nationally and internationally, his works are held in both private and public collections. Fleming is the current recipient of the Guildhouse Fellowship, which is supported by Guildhouse, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation.
Composition #4 In B, 2022
glass
400 x 330 x 270
Photo: Sean Fennesey
Mel Douglas (ACT)
Mel Douglas has worked as an independent studio artist since graduating from the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University in 2000, where she has also served as a lecturer. In early 2020, Douglas received her PhD based on research she carried out at the ANU’s Glass Workshop and at Bullseye Glass in Portland, USA. In addition to winning the 2020 Tom Malone Prize, a prestigious award through which a work is acquired each year into the collection of the National Gallery of Western Australia, Douglas has received several major awards including the Ranamok Glass Prize (2002) and the International Young Glass Award (2007) from the Ebeltolft Museum of Glass, Denmark. In 2019, Douglas’ work was the inaugural acquisition for the National Gallery of Australia’s Robert and Eugenie Bell Decorative Arts and Design Fund. Her work is held in the private collections and public institutions internationally, including the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA, Cincinnati Art Museum, USA, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, USA, Ebeltoft Museum of Glass, Denmark, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Innerspace, 2022
framed glass drawing, engraved
920 x 20 x 1050
Photo: David Patterson
Nicholas Burridge (VIC)
Nicholas Burridge is a sculpture and installation artist who is based in Footscray on the traditional lands of the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung people. He completed a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) at Monash University in 2016. Burridge’s recent research investigates the term ‘Terraforming’ and focuses attention on the ways that humans are re-engineering the earth. He explores this concept through the manipulation of natural materials into artificial ones, most recently through transforming the volcanic rock basalt into an artificial volcanic glass.
Igneous / Anthropic, 2022
basalt, volcanic glass
400 x 200 x 100
Photo: Nicholas Burridge
Tom Moore ( SA)
Tom Moore is an Adelaide based glass artist. Born in Canberra, Moore graduated from the Canberra School of Art at the Australian National University in 1994 and trained in production techniques at JamFactory until 1997, after which he served as the Glass Studio’s Production Manager for 15 years. In 2019, Moore completed a practice-led PhD at the University of South Australia. Moore divides his time between working within the hot glass community at JamFactory’s Glass Studio, from his own home studio and in his role as an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of South Australia, where he undertakes practical investigations in glass focusing on hybrid life forms, humour and the Anthropocene. While Moore’s work maintains strong links with a lineage of ancient craft, it has also been featured in high-profile surveys of Australian contemporary art and is the focus of the nationally touring solo exhibition JamFactory ICON Tom Moore: Abundant Wonder.
Katnest Evergreen & The Party Wizard, 2021
glass, silver leaf
250 x 210 x 430 / 240 x 210 x 480
Photo: Grant Hancock
2022 Judges
Aimee Frodsham|
Artistic Director
Canberra Glassworks
Aimee Frodsham is the Artistic Director at Canberra Glassworks, a role she has held since 2018. Supported by the dedicated Glassworks team, she oversees the exhibitions, artist residencies, studio access, education, community engagement and commissioning areas, working closely with a team of independent skilled glass makers.
Aimee is a curator, producer and project manager with an expertise in glass making and contemporary Australia art, craft and design. After graduating for ANU Canberra School of Art in the late 90’s, she moved to London and began working at the V&A Museum and then at Tate in the role of Collection Planning Manager, a job that spanned all four of Tate’s galleries. Since returning to Australia in 2015, she has embedded herself in the glass making community at Canberra Glassworks. Aimee has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions including shows for Kumantje Jagamara & Imants Tillers, Maree Clarke & Mitch Mahoney, Jamie North, Brendan Van Hek, Kate Baker and Scott Chaseling. Her open and collaborative approach to glass making has enabled major projects for Patricia Piccinini, Maree Clarke, Tony Albert, Lucy Simpson and Elliat Rich.
Photo: Canberra Glassworks
Cobi Cockburn
Glass Artist
2020 FUSE Glass Prize Winner
Choosing glass as her primary material, she has formed a relationship with the medium over the past 20 years, which continues to evolve. To Cockburn, glass offers a unique language; embodying both a 2D and 3D presence, acting as a portal into an otherwise unreachable plane, a place of personal meaning, accessible to, yet unchangeable by others.
Cockburn is a graduate of Sydney College of the Arts, obtaining a Bachelor of Visual Arts (2000) and a Master of Fine Arts (2016). She is also a graduate of the Glass Workshop with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons) (2006) from the Australian National University School of Art & Design, Canberra. She received the Tom Malone Prize in 2015 and 2009 and the Ranamok Glass Prize in 2006. Cockburn’s work has been published in New Glass Review; art ltd.; American Craft; and Craft Arts International. Her works are held in international collections including the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass, New York. Cockburn is currently based in Kiama, New South Wales.
Rebecca Evans
Curator of Decorative Arts and Design
Art Gallery of South Australia
Rebecca Evans is the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Curator of Decorative Arts & Design. She is responsible for the Gallery’s extensive collection of Australian and international decorative arts object, dating from antiquity to contemporary, a collection that includes ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, jewellery, fashion and textiles. Prior to joining the Gallery in 2016 she was Assistant Curator, Decorative Arts and Design (2008-2016) at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Rebecca has strong interests in contemporary and historic craft and design and has curated To have and to hold, the Daalder contemporary jewellery collection (2018), Paola Sebastian: X (2017)and Catherine Truman (2016). She has also written extensively on Australian and international decorative arts and design.
Photo: Sven Kovac
Justine Olsen
Curator of Decorative Art and Design
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Justine Olsen has been Curator of Decorative Art and Design at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, since 2010. Through freelancing and holding the same curatorial role at Auckland War Memorial Museum (1987-1994) she has seen generational shifts in craft practice.
Justine has extensive experience in developing exhibitions, collections and writing across art and design both contemporary and historically. Her particular interest focusses on 20th and the 21st century craft and how art and design operate within local and global spheres.
Brian Parkes
Chief Executive Officer
JamFactory
Brian Parkes has been CEO at JamFactory in Adelaide since April 2010. He has overseen significant development of the organisation’s exhibition and training programs and substantial growth in its audience and operational budget. He is passionate about the social, cultural and economic value of contemporary art, craft and design and has worked in senior curatorial and commercial management roles in the Australian cultural sector for over 30 years, including stints at the Australian Design Centre, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Gallery of Australia. He has curated numerous exhibitions focused on contemporary Australian craft and design including the first national survey of contemporary design; Freestyle: new Australian design for living in 2006 and has remained active in mentoring and supporting emerging artists, designers and creative entrepreneurs over the past two decades.
Photo: Andre Castellucci.