The origins of this exhibition go back to 2013, when the Sweden-based glass artist Yoko Andersson Yamano received a proposal from a graphic designer in Japan: “How about making a book based on your glass works?” This was the genesis of the art book project Glass Tableware in Still Life.

“What kind of glass tableware do you want to paint?” Yamano posed this question to 18 painters based in Sweden, Japan, and Germany, who then made verbal requests for the glass tableware they wished to depict. Yamano responded to these words by blowing clear glass, and then the artists produced paintings based on the completed glass pieces. Paintings of all kinds were accepted, on the condition that the glass work had to be somewhere in the picture.

The glassware and paintings created through this process were then photographed, with the goal of compiling an art book. Equipped with an 8×10 large-format camera, a photographer traveled to Sweden, Germany, and Japan to capture images of the glassware and paintings in each painter’s studio.

The journey toward completing the art book began with the painters’ words, which shaped the creation of the glass, which in turn appeared in the paintings. The glass and paintings became the subjects of photographs, and this unique process culminated in an exhibition that is sure to inspire further words from visitors. The venue presenting these works centered around glass tableware is bound together by a luminous web of dynamic relationships among creators and viewers.

Exhibition Information