A leading figure in the Australian studio glass movement, Brian Hirst creates distinctive handblown glass pieces of deceptively simple form but with extremely rich and graphic surfaces. Brian's keen interest in the history of glass is often reflected in his work but his imagery and use of vessel forms places the work in a very contemporary context. His use of gold and silver lustres seems akin to the degraded iridescent surfaces of classical Roman glass and the flecked gold leaf in the inner surfaces echos the subtleties of Japanese makie lacquer. A recent development in his work introduces Italian canework or strong colours inside the vessels that are meant to contrast with the highly decorative external surfaces. Other pieces are quite the opposite with absolutely no glass colours at all. One thing that exemplifies all of Brian's work, though, is an absolute mastery of glass-making techniques.

Brian Hirst studied at Monash University and has lectured at both the Canberra School of Art and Sydney College of the Arts. In 1994, Brian was awarded the Grand Prize at the prestigious international exhibition “World Glass Now”, at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan, and in 1996 he was selected as one of only three artists to represent Australia at the inaugural Venice International Biennale for glass. His work is represented in numerous national and international collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Australian National University, National Gallery of Victoria, Powerhouse Museum, Queensland Art Gallery; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art (Japan), Corning Museum of Glass (New York) and Ebeltoft Glasmuseum (Denmark).