Landscape in Glass from the Land Down Under

Museum of Glass Welcomes Visiting Artist Brenden Scott French August 21 – August 25

Tacoma, Wash. — South Australian artist Brenden Scott French will be the Visiting Artist in the Hot Shop at Museum of Glass from Wednesday, August 21 through Sunday, August 25. This residency concludes with a lecture on Sunday, August 25 at 2:00 pm which will be streamed live from the Museum’s website. French’s residency is in concert with the exhibition Links: Australian Glass and the Pacific Northwest currently on view.

“The juxtaposition of formal technical elements and expressive painterly surfaces inherent in Brenden Scott French’s work is incredibly thought provoking,” states Susan Warner, executive director of Museum of Glass. “I cannot wait to see what he creates during his residency.”

Brenden Scott French’s work has always used narrative pieces to explore the themes of adaptation and survival that come to light in times of conflict.  These themes are important to French, who has always been at odds with the lack of sustainability inherent in the practice of glass making.  His most recent series of wall panel landscapes continues to exhibit these themes by invoking the idea of man vs. nature while employing a unique kiln-formed technique to create a mosaic-like effect composed of opaque glass.  The results of this process are visually striking wall panels that narrate a universal story while being reminiscent of abstract expressionism.     

Brenden Scott French began his career by receiving a Bachelor of Visual Arts in glass from Sydney College of the Arts in 1997, completing the Associate of Design program at Jamfactory Contemporary Craft and Design in 1999, and receiving a Bachelor of Visual Arts with honors from Australian National University Canberra School of Art in 2003.  Since completing his formal education, French has been a Ranamok Glass Prize Finalist three times, and in addition to receiving The Stephen Proctor Fellowship and the Lino Tagliapietra International Scholarship. French has also completed multiple residencies at Canberra Glassworks, Australian National University Glass Workshop, University of South Australia, and Northlands Creative Glass Centre in Scotland.