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Irene Frolic (Canadian, born Poland, 1941)
Butterfly Woman from the Labyrinth series, 1992
Gl…
Butterfly Woman
Irene Frolic (Canadian, born Poland, 1941) Butterfly Woman from the Labyrinth series, 1992 Glass and copper, 18 x 23 x 7 3/4 in. (45.7 x 58.4 x 19.7 cm) Gift of Philip and Nancy Kotler, 2012, SN11325.8

Butterfly Woman

Artist (Canadian, born Poland, 1941)
Date1992
MediumGlass and copper
Dimensions18 x 23 x 7 3/4 in. (45.7 x 58.4 x 19.7 cm)
ClassificationsGlass
Credit LineGift of Philip and Nancy Kotler, 2012
Object numberSN11325.8
To create this sculptural bust, Irene Frolic melted industrial plate glass, copper powder, silica (sand), and pieces of found copper in a mold. As copper and plate glass have similar coefficients of expansion, these materials tolerate each other well in a mixed-media composition when heating and cooling in a kiln. Butterfly Woman is a metaphorical selfportrait with the small butterfly wings embodying the feeling that Frolic had as an artist always searching for wings to lift oneself up off the ground. Each work in the Labyrinth series is one-of-a-kind and references the artist’s feeling that there truly is a labyrinth inside oneself. Frolic created this series at a time when she grappled with her identity as an artist and self-expression, searching inside herself and sharing what she felt with others in corporeal form.
On View
On view
Location
  • Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion, 1st floor, gallery, floor