Dedicated to showcasing the very best in design and art in glass, the Glass Gallery offers an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions which involve work by living artists.

The types of exhibitions one might see on a visit to the National Glass Centre vary from survey exhibitions of international significance, to innovative designs for scientific, industrial and functional use, cross-disciplinary projects involving writers, performers and visual artists, or indepth exploration of the work of one artist.

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Wearing Glass, Contemporary Gallery 12 May - 9 July 2006

PREVIEW: THURSDAY 11 MAY, 6PM-8PM

Guirlandes Corals, by Evert Nijland. Photo: Andrew Penketh

Wearing Glass, a selling show, illustrates the amazing diversity of glass as a medium for stunning, contemporary jewellery and its fascination for designers from different creative backgrounds, including sculptors, gold and silversmiths, product designers and jewellers as well as glass artists.

Maori-inspired amulets (Ruth Allen), pendants and brooches made from recycled glass (Rebecca Ward and Marianne Schliwinski), funky bead garland necklaces with baroque influences (Evert Nijland) and ethereal neckpieces (Keiko Mukaide) are amongst the beautiful glass jewellery that will be on show.

Rebecca Ward collects glass from beaches, glaziers and demolition yards, breaks it up, tumbles it and creates simple organic jewellery using sterling silver and various types of thread and cable. Marianne Schliwinski also works with fragments of glass into which she incorporates photos, silver, gold, pearls, paper or other items, using techniques including mounting, hammering and setting, to create sophisticated brooches.

Markéta Sílená is one of seven artists from the Czech Republic showcased at Wearing Glass. Their work reflects the strong tradition of glass as sculpture that exists in the Czech Republic and the influence of the Czech glass masters is clearly apparent, despite the small scale of jewellery.

The scope and style of the work on show ensures it will be a hit with anyone interested in glass as a creative medium, as well as those interested in the latest trends in bespoke jewellery.

Special ticket only preview night on Thursday 11 th May – contact National Glass Centre Reception on 0191 515 5555 for further details.

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Cutting Edge
The National Exhibition of the Guild of Glass Engravers
Other People's Collections & Gallery Shop

5 May - 30 June 2006

PREVIEW: THURSDAY 4 MAY, 6PM-8PM

The very best traditional and contemporary interpretations of engraved glass selected from an open submission to The Guild of Glass Engravers.

Psalm Song, by Alison Kinnaird. Photo: Simon Hollington

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Glass Gallery Exhibition - Trip The Light Fantastic

10 February – 30 April

Trip the Light Fantastic is a new exhibition which opens at the National Glass Centre on 10 th February - 30 th April with a preview evening on Thursday 9 th February. Trip the Light Fantastic explores the theme of light. - Find out more

MR. SPACESHIP

10 February – 30 April 2006

Joe Clark

Alluding to the Science Fiction novels of Philip K. Dick, where things are seldom as they seem, Joe Clark's new series of photographs of the National Glass Centre trip the switches of the mind taking us to alternate worlds of the imagination. The futuristic visions play with the building’s distinct architectural glass features to create surreal, bizarre images that entice us to dream of a fantasy place.

Clark ’s photographs depict areas of the built and controlled environment that are innately familiar to us in nature but are outside the well-worn path of our everyday lives. He works exclusively at night - a device used to render spaces in, quite literally, an unfamiliar light.

Graduating in Fine Art from Northumbria University in 2004, Clark has since exhibited in group shows, Northern Graduates and Bloomberg New Contemporaries and won the support of the DLA Piper Award and Arts Council England who funded his research trip to Japan . 2005 saw him being tipped by the Independent as a ‘Shooting Star’ and presenting solo shows of his work in London and at Newcastle ’s Waygood Gallery.

Mr. Spaceship is his first public commission.

All works in this series are offered for sale as limited edition prints. National Glass Centre is a participating gallery in Arts Council England’s Own Art scheme designed to make it easy and affordable for everyone to buy contemporary works of art and craft. Please ask at reception for more details and a price guide.

Previous Exhibitions_______________________________

Project Space - 17th July - 20th November 2005

Observations - 14th October - 29th January 2006

Journeys of a River - 15th July - 30th September 2005

Wheel and Water Grind an Edge - 5 July - 2 October 2005

Brilliant - 18 February - 5 June 2005

Circle of Spheres - 21 November 2004 - 31 January 2005

Move as if Breathing - 5 July - 28 October 2004

Playing with fire - 12 - 26 June 2004

William Morris:Past Present Future - 1 April to 6 June 2004

Jerwood Applied Arts Prize 2003 - 3 February - 21 March 2004

Tapio Wirkkala - 17 October - 17 January 2004

Czech*mania - 11 July to 28 September 2003

Fused and Fired - 10th to 29th June 2003

Heart of Glass - 10th Feb to 18th of May 2003

Smooth Finnish - 20th Nov 2002 to 4th Feb 2003

"Not What It Seems" - 15th Sept to 4th Nov 2001

Sunderland Glass Connections - 14th Nov to 27th Jan 2002

Smash - 12th Feb to 21st Apr 2002

The Bombay Sapphire Blue Room - 30th Apr to 23rd June 2002

Blaschkas - The Glass Aquarium - 7 July to 5 November 2002