exhibitions

studio glass

20 July – 6 August 2017

about the exhibition

Brenden Scott French has a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative and thought-provoking glass artists. His sculptural forms and wall pieces make a radical shift away from the delicacy and transparency of glass – instead they exhibit a unique density and opacity of colour. The striking pattern and form developed in the artworks reflect a deep exploration of this rich and versatile material. Brenden’s graphic panel works arise from a kilnforming process where blocks of coloured glass are composed in layers to form spontaneous, yet harmonious, colour relationships. He describes this act as “a labour of assemblage”, slowly revealing an unfolding narrative that celebrates the passage of time during the creation of the works. Complex visceral surfaces are built using the distinct technique of pâte de verre and murrine roll-up. Here, a panel is constructed using fused granules or cut rods of glass, giving Brenden the ability to generate subtle painterly qualities. Once heated, the sheets of glass can be rolled, blown and shaped to form intricate vessels. Brenden’s recent residency in the western ridge of the Barossa Valley, South Australia, brought inspiration for this new body of work, exploring both the external environment and his internal psychological narrative. Colour and form in the artworks play with ideas of the interior and exterior, organic and geometric, ultimately questioning our individual, as well as collective, relationship with the environment.

Brenden has trained extensively in glass practice, completing a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Sydney College of the Arts in 1997 and a Bachelor of Art with Honours at the Canberra School of Art in 2003. Brenden has also undertaken residencies at the Canberra Glassworks, University of South Australia and the Northlands Creative Glass Centre in Scotland. He has received numerous awards including the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award (2001), the Lino Tagliapietra International Scholarship to study at the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle (2001) and the Stephen Procter Fellowship (2007).

exhibition images

  • 1. $1,950 Vase - geologic storage facility 3 – pâte de verre glass roll-up, coldworked, 28 x 19 x 19cm

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  • 2. $3,200 Western Ridge – upon reflection – kilnformed glass, coldworked, 24 x 36.5 x 4.5cm

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  • 3. $7,900 View from window – Koonunga – wall piece, kilnformed glass, coldworked, 68.5 x 74 x 1cm

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  • 4. $9,900 View from window – Western Ridge – two panel wall piece, kilnformed glass, coldworked, 109.5 x 78.5 x 1cm

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  • 5. $7,500 View from window – perpetual – wall piece, kilnformed glass, coldworked, 97 x 97 x 1cm

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  • 6. $13,000 View from window – north south east west – four panel wall piece, kilnformed glass, coldworked, 137 x 85 x 1cm

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  • 7. $2,600 Cargo – Western Ridge – kilnformed glass, coldworked, 17 x 48 x 4cm

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  • 8. $2,500 Marananga 3 – blown glass with roll-up, coldworked, 46 x 19 x 19cm

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  • 9. $1,800 Book of consequence vol 24 – kilnformed glass, coldworked, 21 x 11 x 5cm

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  • 10. $2,100 Geologic storage facility – murrine 2 – murrine glass roll-up, coldworked, 25.5 x 17.5 x 17.5cm

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  • 11. $4,500 Geologic storage facility – murrine 1 – murrine glass roll-up, coldworked, 37 x 20.5 x 18cm

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  • 12. $1,100 Core block 1 – kilnformed glass, coldworked, 18 x 6.5 x 7cm

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  • 13. $700 Core block 2 – kilnformed glass, coldworked, 22.5 x 6 x 5.5cm

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  • 14. $2,300 Black and white – blown glass, coldworked, 60 x 27 x 27cm

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  • 15. $5,500 Marananga 2 – blown glass, murrine roll-up, coldworked, 40.5 x 30 x 29cm

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  • 16. $1,950 Vase - geologic storage facility 2 – pâte de verre glass roll-up, coldworked, 29.5 x 17 x 17cm

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  • 17. $1,950 Vase - geologic storage facility 1 – pâte de verre glass roll-up, coldworked, 28.5 x 16 x 16cm

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  • 18. $1,100 Tectonic shift 2 – glass roll-up, coldworked, 18 x 26 x 26cm

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  • 19. $1,300 Tectonic shift 1 – glass roll-up, coldworked, 22.5 x 20 x 20cm

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  • 20. $3,900 Marananga 1 – blown glass, murrine roll-up, coldworked, 27 x 30 x 30cm

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