A new club for glass lovers, and a glassy show in the Capital

Detail from a work by Boston-based artist Hemi Bawa, one of 20 artists whose works will be on show at the Glass Menagerie, Contemporary Practices in Glass exhibition curated by Kristine Michael.

One of the artworks at the Glass Menagerie, Contemporary Practices in Glass exhibition curated by Kristine Michael, was received by Ashwini Pai Bahadur by regular post.

“Can you imagine a postman delivered a glass artwork sent by glassmaker artist Hemi Bawa all the way from Boston?” she laughed. “And it was intact!”

Ashwini is launching a club called The Glass Makers Club which will be a platform for showcasing the medium of glass and creating a market for glass. With an annual subscription of Rs 1,000, the intention is to get art collectors, writers and others interested in ‘studio glass’ which is 3D or sculptural artworks made in glass. Ashwini refers to the glass artists as ‘glass makers’ because of the works they create exclusively with glass.

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There are so few glass makers from India who are using contemporary practices, she said. “Even those artists are usually trained in the practice outside India and find it challenging to get the right infrastructure and support for glass making here. Unfortunately, studio glass has really not come of age in India and art collectors are still not looking at studio glass for their collection.”

To pique interest in glass art, the week-long show features 20 artists ranging from award-winners like Hemi Bawa to upcoming ones like Nehmat Mongia.

“One of the artists, Anjali Srinivasan, who works in Boston, has sent a work from her Sheesh Mahal series through regular post and it is a testimony to the material that it wasn’t damaged.”

Ashwini also raves about the studio glass works done by Hemi Bawa which is from the acclaimed Torso series that will be shown at the exhibition. “They are made entirely from broken windshield glass and these sculptures have a natural glow of their own.”

There will be workshops, movie screenings, and from the glass capital of India, Firozabad near Agra, traditional glass makers will be giving demonstrations on glass making. “India had a hardcore tradition in making glass beads which has now been lost. So by getting artists from Firozabad, we are trying to bring awareness.”

Although the Glass Makers Club opened in 2020, as a first-of-its-kind club in South Asia, it was launched online. The idea is also to get viewers looking at glass art made in India with the same enthusiasm as glass made in Murano near the city of Venice, Italy. At 19, Ashwini would be interested in Venetian glass and in the texture of glass itself but today, it’s about bringing contemporary studio glass into focus. “People go gaga over Venetian glass and I want that same feeling for blown glass from India as well.”

The exhibition opened at Bikaner House, New Delhi, on January 28, 2023.

M. Sashidharan's Sacred Fragile, in kiln-formed float glass terracotta.

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