‘Montage’ series

Scott Benefield’s work draws upon a particular heritage in the history of glass: the golden age of 16th century Venetian glassblowing. In this tradition, the ability of glass to change its state from a solid to a liquid is pushed to its limit—everything that gives the final object its form or decoration happens at elevated temperatures, emphasising the fluid nature of glass and the glassblower’s dexterity. There is no engraving or painting or reshaping afterwards. The entire object is created in real, continuous time and as such is a record of the reactions and decision-making that occur in a split second as the material is moving in the makers’ hands.

Scott’s concern as a maker has been to engage the history of the medium in an informed way and to participate in that continuum. He tries to build on that history by creating new means of expression—inventing new patterns by exploring permutations, increasing his understanding of the material by going back to the same conditions of fire and gravity, using the same tools that have shaped glass for two millennia.

The ‘Montage’ pieces range £500 to £600, please enquire with the gallery for more details.