15 August – 31 August 2024
about the exhibition
Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott, through their exquisite blown and carved glass forms, capture the cool tones of the coastal landscape and the movements of the ocean and sky. The dynamic movement of the shore line has been a central theme of their work for a number of years expressed through form, tone and line. Benjamin is drawn to examining the wave shapes and weather patterns through his many years as a surfer whilst for Kathy, it is the ever-changing moods of the ocean that continue to inspire her. These pieces present great technical challenges for the artists involving a two-stage process of hot and cold glass techniques. After Benjamin has blown the vessels, the surface imagery is then drawn and carved on a lathe, predominantly by Kathy, using stone and diamond wheels, to create an organic surface of lines and planes. The artists explain, “The depiction of waves and the ocean is personal for us, but universal we hope. This work is a collaboration that stretches back for 32 years. After this length of time working together, it’s difficult to see where one of us has begun and one has finished in terms of direction, inspiration, creative vision and process.” This synergy of ideas, along with Ben and Kathy’s extraordinary technical skills, come together in collaborative harmony.
Glass artists Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott have been working in partnership since their first joint exhibition at the de Vera Gallery, San Francisco in 1993. 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 in public and private glass studios. Together, they have exhibited widely in Australia, as well as showing in Japan and the USA, with almost forty national and international solo exhibitions of their work. Benjamin and Kathy have been finalists in numerous prizes including most recently the prestigious Tom Malone Glass Prize in 2018 and 2023. 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).
