Tg @ Bellevue Arts Museum: Transitions in Kiln-Glass

Bellevue, WA—Bullseye Projects is partnering with the Bellevue Arts Museum to present Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass, a juried exhibition featuring the best of contemporary kiln-glass design, architecture, and art. The exhibition features works from 30 emerging and established talents working in the medium of kiln-glass. Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass is on view at Bellevue Arts Museum January 21 – May 29, 2022.

Bullseye’s previous biennial juried exhibition, Emerge, featured rising talent in the field of kiln-glass in ten competitions over a period of twenty years and was developed to encourage artists to explore a method of glassmaking that was relatively nascent at the time. Emerge became Emerge/Evolve with the addition of work by former Emerge finalists who had since advanced in their practices and careers. Bellevue Arts Museum exhibited the final three iterations of Emerge/Evolve in 2015, 2017, and 2019/2020.  

The transformation of Emerge/Evolve into Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass reflects the expansion and evolution of the medium and its community. While still encouraging emerging talent, the parameters have been widened to include a broader range of artists and to acknowledge the growth of kiln-glass in the architectural and design fields. Tg refers to the glass transition temperature that lies near the center of the region in which the material shifts between behaving like a solid and behaving like a liquid.  This metamorphosis embodies the ethos of kiln-glass, the transformation that occurs when glass softens and yields to the fierce heat of the kiln. Tg: Transitions in Kiln-Glass offers viewers an opportunity to explore the aesthetic choices, conceptual frameworks, and technical innovations of contemporary kiln-glass by artists from the US and abroad. 

What is kiln-glass?
In glassblowing, the artist works quickly to inflate the glass by means of a blowpipe, shaping the glass by rotating the pipe, swinging it, and controlling the temperature of the piece while he or she blows. In contrast, kilnforming uses a kiln to bind and shape layers or particles (frit) of glass. Kilnforming methods include fusing, slumping, kilncasting, and other kiln-related techniques in which control over the glass medium and the conditions of its manipulation are equally tantamount. Pushing the limits of different kilnforming techniques, the selected artists showcase their skill for creating a diversity of objects with unexpected textures and forms. Their work challenges the possibilities of the medium while encouraging further growth in the field.

Featured artists

The participating artists were selected through a juried competition—open to artists and designers of all levels—by jurors Michael Endo, Co-Director of High Desert Observatory, Partner at Yucca Valley Material Lab, and Curatorial Consultant for Bullseye Projects; Helen Lee, Head of Glass at University of Wisconsin-Madison and Founder of Glass Education Exchange (GEEX); and Namita Gupta Wiggers, Founding Director of the MA in Critical Craft Studies at Warren Wilson College, North Carolina, and Director and Co-Founder of Critical Craft Forum.

About Bullseye Projects
Bullseye Projects is part of Bullseye Glass Co., a manufacturer of colored glass for art and architecture based in Portland, Oregon, with worldwide distribution and a strong commitment to research, education, and the promotion of glass art.

About Bellevue Arts Museum
Bellevue Arts Museum provides a public forum for the community to contemplate, appreciate, and discuss visual culture. We work with audiences, artists, makers, and designers to understand our shared experience of the world.