Contemporary Canadian Glass

By Brad Copping

Steven Tippin, Force, 218.5 x 92 x .95 cm, 2010

Steven Tippin, detail of Force, 2010

With two years of steady work under his belt, Steven Tippin has completed his MFA at RIT and produced a very impressive body of work in the process.  Tippin completed the three year Advanced Diploma in the Craft and Design Program in Glass at Sheridan College in Oakville, before heading down to Rochester, New York to work with Robin Cass and Michael Rogers.  He will be speaking at the Glass Art Association of Canada Conference in Montreal as part of the Graduates Presentation on Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 9 am.  Here he talks a bit about the work he has made for his MFA exhibition (by the way, the piece Force is 50 kilos of glass).

I think that my glass artwork is very similar to the techniques that inspire it. When I view the work I see elements of printmaking, sculpture, painting, photography, graphite drawing, halftone imagery and text. I also think that the repetition, overlapping, lack of vivid color and misleading perspective found in the work is very important when I create and critique my glass panels.

Steven Tippin, About, 56 x 45.75 x 11.5 cm, 2010

I make the glass panels by fusing together individual pieces of glass, called murini, into a thin flat panel. The “tubes” in the glass are a result of how the murini are made in the hot shop and are inside the glass, not painted on the surface. The finished panels have the illusion of depth that is much deeper than the physical ¼” of space created by the movement of the glass at a liquid state.

I feel that each work of art shown in this exhibition best showcases the elements found in my work that I feel are most important.  The highlighted characteristics of the work include the elements of painterly movement, sculptural form, contrasting visual versus physical texture, illusion of condensed space and the way that the work acts like a lens and distorts the world behind it. Although each piece is very different, a common color palette and a similar creation technique unite them. Studying at the Rochester Institute of Technology for my Masters of Fine Arts has allowed my to pursue work that would never have been possible otherwise. During my two years there I was able to push the movement in the work, the scale and use new techniques such as water jet cutting.

Tippin’s MFA Thesis Exhibition ran from April 2 to April 27, but is being held over for the month of May, 2010.  The exhibition is being held at Booksmart Studio, 250 North Goodman St, Rochester, NY 14607.  The gallery is open Monday to Friday 10am – 5 pm.

For more on Steven Tippin check out his website at www.steventippin.com

Steven Tippin, Gallery installation, 2010