Bridesmaid Returns to the Shore of her Full Moon
Artist
Amber Cowan
(American, born 1981)
Date2019
Mediumglass and mixed media
DimensionsOverall: 32 × 22 × 9 1/2 in. (81.3 × 55.9 × 24.1 cm)
ClassificationsGlass
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from an anonymous donor, 2021
Object number2021.44
The trailblazing artist, Amber Cowan, gives new life to long-forgotten glass. To create Bridesmaid Returns to the Shore of Her Full Moon, she salvaged and reworked pressed glass made in the 1930s by one of the foremost American producers, Fenton Art Glass Co. of West Virginia (active 1905-2011) in the innovative color of Periwinkle Blue. Using a flameworking torch, she hot-sculpted a forest of flowers, leaves, feathers and marbles to form an intricate tableau that recalls richly encrusted grottoes of gardens from the Italian Renaissance. Cowan also incorporates once-popular vintage pieces, upcycling a hummingbird, snail, and angel fish into the landscape, along with a bridesmaid figurine at the center of the visually lush scene. This introspective scene reflects the personal dreams, visions and stories from the artist’s own life, and references themes including one’s search for love and meaning. The work also pays homage to the long history of the American glass industry with both nostalgia for past eras of design and respect for previous generations of glassmakers.
On View
On viewLocation
- Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion, 1st floor, gallery, wall case 8
