Shun Kumagai

moving sceneries

July 3rd, 2021 — July 31st, 2021

“ I make glass art pieces using the casting technique, and display my works at galleries in Japan and overseas.

Glass casting is the technique of forming glass shapes by pouring molten glass into gypsum molds, and allowing it to cool and harden. It can create unique glass surfaces, depending on what kind of mold is used, or what materials are mixed with the glass. I intentionally mix different materials with the glass in my works.

In order to make a gypsum mold, firstly, I figure a shape with wax, according to my own formula. The wax can be difficult to work with, given that it is vulnerable to heat and is not easy to keep cool enough in the summer to shape efficiently. After I make a shape with the wax, I put it in a small box and pour liquid plaster around it.

After the plaster hardens, I melt the wax inside and remove it. The gypsum mold is now complete. I then pour molten glass that has been heated to around 1000℃, soil and metal into the gypsum mold and leave it to cool. After a week to 10 days, I remove the mold and clean the solidified glass. The molds can be used many times; however, when the shape is complicated, such as the shape of a jar, the mold has to be broken to take the solidified glass out. This means that I can use the mold only once and have to make a new one every time I make a new piece. In that case, each piece is one-of-a-kind.

 The chemical changes of glass, soil, and metal, when affected by heat, sometimes create unexpected looks. In a way, this could be seen to be a problem, since I am unable to control the look of each piece. However, I find that creating rich expressions in the glass through irregular and unexpected chemical changes, to be more attractive than calculating the change and making my exact plan happen.

 After an art piece is completed, the appearance of the soil and metal is influenced by how light falls on the object. So, changes occur each moment in a day. In a dark room, the character of soil appears more and the object may look like earthenware. In the morning sun or the evening sun, the character of glass appears more, as if the object itself cast the light.

 If you have one of my art pieces, I would like you to enjoy feeling the changes of time throughout the days and seasons from it. ”

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