My multidisciplinary practice pulls from the disparate, yet conjoined, histories of science and mysticism. Using kilnformed glass, organic media, and aroma molecules, my work references the transformative relationships between body, material, and space. Adornment, corporeal self-expression, and the fragmented body intersect with historical and imagined material animacies to create mythopoetic objects and figures. These ideas are expressed through the integration of hard and soft materials such as glass, metal, leather and horsehair with multisensory elements including liquid, fragrance, and kinetic mechanisms. The visual, cultural, kinesthetic, and chemical qualities of these materials complement and contrast one another in harmonious tension.
Glass, in particular, is a foundational element both conceptually and materially. The medium’s scientific lineage and its associations with preservation, fantasy, and impermanence are woven into sculptures, installation, and assemblage.
Themes of metamorphosis, the passage of time, and reaction to environmental stimuli are expressed through mimetic glass surfaces referencing stages of crystallization, condensation, accumulation, and erosion.
Emily Endo (née Nachison) was born and raised in San Diego, California. They received a BFA in fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2006 and an MFA in fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2010. Endo served as a faculty member at the Oregon College of Art and Craft from 2010-2018 and as the Chair of the OCAC Fibers Department from 2013-2018. From 2010 - 2018 they worked as a mentor and committee member in the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft Applied Craft + Design MFA program. Endo has exhibited and lectured internationally at venues such as the Scottish Glass Art Society, Glasgow; Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon; American Craft Council, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; Rochester Institute of Technology, New York; School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. Their work has been featured in publications including American Craft, Architectural Digest, Dezeen, Interior Design, Art Ltd. and Frontrunner.