Ben Young’s Glass Sculptures Making Waves

Ben Young, a Sydney-based New Zealander, is a self-taught artist who has been making three-dimensional glass sculpture built up of flat coloured panes for over ten years. He is one of a number of artists using a “very demanding medium” with “seemingly limitless possibilities,” auction house Christie’s reports.

“Colossal, Christopher Jobson’s must-read blog for those interested in the intersection between art and craft, featured Young’s very beautiful work [in June 2014]. I suspect the artist is a grown-up surfer permanently and wistfully in love with the Next Big Wave.

“Each piece begins as a drawing, then come into being with hand-cut glass panes that are crafted, layer by layer, to create remarkable evocations of waves, their movement and depth frozen in motion.

“‘I love watching the two dimensional shapes evolve,’ explains Young, who clearly sees the medium as the next best thing to water. ‘I love the liquid qualities the glass brings with it … it enables me to play with lighting and watch the glass react.’”

Young, who was raised at Waihi Beach, is available for collaboration and commissioned works.

Original article by Meredith Etherington-Smith, Christie’s, March 17, 2015