7 - 24 May 2020
about the exhibition
Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott have been working in partnership, in both business and family life, for many years. Their extraordinary collaborative glass works involve a two-stage process of hot and cold glass techniques. After Ben has blown the vessels, Kathy cuts the glass on a lathe, using stone and diamond wheels, to create an organic surface of lines and planes. The vessels in this exhibition are inspired by the power of nature and, in particular, the thrill and sometimes terror, of oceans, waves and large bodies of water. Kathy’s dreams of the rage of tidal waves, of possible total destruction, are channelled into the concept for these works. It is the ‘motivating force of fright or flight’ that pushes them to create these works. Technically, for both artists, these pieces are huge challenges. For Kathy, it is the intensity of the carving and to work in a way that feels new. For Ben, it is his response in the hotshop to Kathy’s concepts, “creating vessels that bring their own chaos and beauty.” As Kathy says, “It is the synthesis of those two things; chaos and beauty which is uplifting. It has been our goal since we started working together 27 years ago to make work that is uplifting. Over time the themes have changed but the goal is the same.”
Benjamin Edols studied initially at the Sydney College of the Arts, then undertook a post-graduate diploma at the Canberra School of Art in 1991. Kathy Elliott received her BA from the Canberra School of Art in 1991, after which she travelled to the United States, working her way through public and private glass studios. Together, they have exhibited widely in Australia, as well as showing in Japan and the USA. Their work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Powerhouse Museum, Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank, Museum of Arts and Design (New York), Corning Museum of Glass (New York) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).
Please note, due to the many restrictions caused by Covid-19, we have made the difficult decision to present this beautiful exhibition to you only online. Benjamin and Kathy have been working on this exhibition for many months and we felt this was a better option than postponing the show.
