Michael Glancy: Infinite Obsessions

Michael Glancy is widely recognised as a prominent innovator in the field of studio glass. After studying with the critically acclaimed glass artist Dale Chihuly, he found his own artistic personality by combining different techniques: Glancy works with cold glass, which he sculpts through sandblasting and acid-cutting, and then coats with electroformed copper, silver or gold. Elegant and exceptional in their quality and beauty, Michael Glancy’s sculptures reveal the artist’s pursuit for perfection; fascinated by microscopic landscapes, Glancy translates cellular structures and geological stratifications into impressive sculptural objects. The lattice patterns etched into the glass suggest latitude and longitude, while the organic and undulating vessels allude to topography. Glancy’s own very specific mode of presentation - that of a base of sheet glass which shadows or connects to the standing vessel - has become his signature style. It is as if the two-dimensional world of the sheet of glass has developed and warped itself into a three-dimensional object. This transformation together with his scientific interests, positions his work between alchemy - at the intersection of physics and metaphysics - and conceptual art. Michael Glancy’s work is represented in numerous international museums and collections. Since 1982 he has taught and worked at the Rhode Island School of Design.