My research and investigation for this body of work is twofold: one is my response to the landscape at Caithness, with its coastline of sea trade and the search for sanctuary; the other is about those places of contemplation and meditation that currently cannot be accessed, forcing the need for us to create our own spiritual spaces. The installation, Cathedral for One, is a physical presence built for one body and one mind. It is a metaphor for solitariness and isolation, darkness to light.
Matt Durran has worked with glass in diverse capacities for many years. He studied at the University of Sunderland, UK, and Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, Denmark, where he was tutored by some of the leading European glass artists. After finishing his studies in 1991, Matt ran a successful gallery space in London. He has since worked in multiple areas of design, innovation, and material technology. His wide-ranging projects include the influential artist curating group New London Glass; instigating a documentary film project on the decline of glass production in Russia; collaborating on the design of a portable, bio fueled, up-cycling glass furnace; developing glass mouldings for a hospital reconstruction department; and a variety of curatorial projects.
Durran’s work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in the collections of institutions including Corning Museum of Glass, New York; Yelagin Palace Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia; and the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK. Based in London, he is the current curator for the British Glass Biennale, a trustee of the Crafts Council, UK, and a Glass Art Society board member.