The creative partnership of glass artists Benjamin Edols and Kathy
Elliott has produced some of the finest contemporary Australian
glass of the last fifteen years. Their distinctive botanically-inspired
blown and carved glass vessels and sculptures are in the
collections of public museums around the world including the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Museum of Art and
Design in New York and the National Gallery of Australia to name
just a few.
They exemplify the qualities that have distinguished the new
wave of Australian glass artists--namely a high level of skill in
traditional glass working techniques, a fresh uninhibited
interpretation and a luminous palette. Both are highly trained
and historically informed but not bound by traditional
approaches, using crafting techniques as a language to express
a contemporary vision. “We make the objects we like to see in
the world and are building a body of work that we hope will be
coherent as it evolves over time.”
In their fluidly designed, plant inspired pieces, the curvaceous
lines of leaves, seeds and other natural forms are exaggerated in
a lively and candid way, giving each work a pronounced
organic quality. “Glass is a medium that allows us to explore
colour and light as well as form” they say.
Ben, who is one of Australia’s most talented glassblowers ,sees
himself first as a craftsman. He has always been interested and
motivated by process, with the use and innovation of Italian
canework seducing him for over 20 years. For Ben and Kathy the
blown form is never an end in itself. It becomes the ‘canvas’ for
Kathy to transform using a repertoire of carving and engraving
techniques. Her contribution accentuates and stylises the tension
and grace of the blown form and creates a translucent ‘skin’ of
exquisitely fine surface markings to capture light.
Ben and Kathy met while studying at Art School in Canberra
in 1991 and have collaborated on their work since 1993. They are
life partners and were married in 1995 and now raise two children
living in the Northern beaches area of Sydney where they own
and operate a glass studio. "A sense of discipline in the studio is
important to us, but we balance that with progression and
experimentation.”
