Artist : Richard Morrell
Genre : Glass Exhibition
Period : March 4 till May 5 Everyday, 9.00AM till 5.00PM
Location : Jenggala Keramik, Jl. Uluwatu ll, Jimbaran Tel: 703311
Richard Morrell was born on December 11, 1953 in England. He studied at Stourbridge School of Art, England, and received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in 1979. Later study at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, resulted in a Master of Arts in 1999. As a talented glass artist Richard has continuously challenged the accepted nature of glass. His designs for hand-blown glass are the creation of many years of experience. Richard won first prize at the Ausglass Exhibition in 1991, and he was granted an Australia Council Development Award in 1987, to name just two of many awards that he has received. His dedication and continuation of glass development techniques have earned him an outstanding recognition and respect from all over the world. His work is included in the collections of many Museums and Art Galleries, and has been featured in many publications worldwide. Richard has also shown his pieces in many solo and group international exhibitions. All this acclaim confirms his name as a master of glass.
Writing about his exhibition “Into the Deep”, at Jenggala Keramik Art Gallery, Richard’s Artist’s Statement probably best sums up his inspiration for this work: “As a glass artist, one of my fascinations has always been to penetrate the surface, to get below the visible exterior and explore the depths within. This operates on both a metaphoric, and a physical level. Many of my recent works attempt to open up the surface of the vessel, luring the viewer’s eye ‘into the deep’ interior of the form. Since arriving in Bali, I have been lured into the deep myself. The opportunity to go diving offered the possibility of physically going below the surface, and having a real life experience of something which I had sought in the abstract, and in my work, for so long. The collection of glass vessels presented in this exhibition pursues my familiar theme of getting below the surface, but it is now influenced by the mental images I gathered while under the ocean. Soft corals and sponges form patterns within patterns, layers over layers, and meanings within meanings. A view through the surface to a different part of our world, where life pulses with color, and ebbs and flows with the changing currents. Where the meaning of life is life itself, which is a life we may have forgotten”.
Viewing Richard’s elegant glass pieces is indeed like scuba diving through one of Bali’s beautiful coral reefs. Slightly malformed bowls and vases echo the shapes and contours of a variety of corals and sponges, while the delicate hues of the glass suggest the kaleidoscopic colors of marine life. Many pieces feature a slightly raised intertwining ribbon of contrasting colored glass that “fizzes” around the bowls, yet again suggesting the tactile patterns of coral. The desire to stroke these glass pieces is over-whelming. One can almost sense these glass sponges recoiling slightly from human touch, for they emanate a fragility that is as delicate as the environmental structure of a coral reef within itself. All life, as we know, came originally from the ocean and within Richard’s glass pieces we can sense the mysteries of evolution.
To create hand-blown glass pieces requires much dexterity and skill. All of the pieces in this exhibition amply demonstrate Richard Morrell’s talent, and prove him to be a master-craftsman of his art. To be used either functionally or as objects of admiration, these glass works would grace any collection.
