Still in Love

Still in Love is a new series of group exhibitions celebrating artists who have persevered in working with glass as their primary material for over seven years. The first edition was organized through an open call, and we received more than 40 applications. We were pleased to see the enthusiasm within the global glass art community, though we faced the significant challenge of selecting the best works from the submissions. After all, staying dedicated to such a physically demanding and highly technical material for so long is an achievement in itself. However, some works truly stood out—not just due to the artists' stamina over their long careers, but also because of their sustained courage in experimenting and exploring, continuously testing the material's boundaries, both conceptually and technically, often in both ways at the same time. Nevertheless, due to practical considerations regarding the feasibility of the exhibitions, we had to exclude a few exceptional pieces. The final list now includes nine artists from eight different countries, showcasing works that range from experimental glass sculptures to an artist’s book made of glass, and even a performance featuring glass costumes.

This is the first collaboration between S12 Gallery and Workshop—the only art institution in Norway dedicated to glass art—and Northing, Norway's first center for East Asian art and culture. Much like a "greatest hits" compilation album, the exhibition is presented on two “sides”: Side A, titled Fragile Resistance, is displayed at S12, and Side B, titled Chance as a Choice, is exhibited at Northing.

Side A: Fragile Resistance “All art is quite useless,” as Oscar Wilde put it. This sentiment feels especially poignant in a world increasingly threatened by wars and natural disasters. Yet, it is often art, and the artists who devote their talent and time to this "uselessness," that protect the essence of humanity.

On this side of the exhibition, we encounter Alison Lowry’s installation #ceasefirenow, which features a delicate, child-sized garment made of glass, with white porcelain shoes—some of them broken—piled beneath it. This composition highlights the absence of the young owners of these items, evoking the fragility and helplessness of innocent lives during wartime. In contrast to Lowry’s narrative approach, both Marieke Schoonderbeek and Olga Golos take more abstract, though distinctly different, routes. Schoonderbeek seeks to inspire an open yet connected attitude toward our overly complex world through illegible forms and interwoven materials, while Golos employs a counterproductive sandblasting technique to mourn the loss of seasonal changes. Norwegian artist Tuva Gonsholt turns to nature for inspiration, focusing on the microscopic world of insects. She borrows colors, patterns, and forms from this realm, translating them into her glass art. German artist Verena Schatz intricately combines heart-shaped glass surfaces with video projection to explore the depth and breadth of human emotions. The works of Chinese artists Wendi Xie and Wang Qin are featured on both sides of the exhibition.

Side B: Chance as a Choice Many artists discover the appeal of glass after completing their formal art education, like Morgan Madison from the USA and Wendi Xie from China. Their connection to this magical material can be described by the term "Yuan," an ancient Buddhist concept that can be roughly translated as serendipity—a word coined much later to describe an unplanned, fortunate discovery. However, they both chose to remain dedicated to working innovatively with glass for an extended period, and most likely for the rest of their lives.

On this side of the exhibition, Morgan Madison presents some newly created pieces from his residency at S12, where he experimented with color, drawing, and layering. He described his residency experience as a beautiful journey where he listened to the universe, stepped aside from his usual processes, and, most importantly, enjoyed the ride. Wang Qin from China also draws inspiration from the universe and ancient Chinese philosophy. For this exhibition, we received two groups of works he created in 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic. Instead of looking inward meditatively, as he was known to do in his previous work, he expanded his exploration gradually outwards into a negotiation with space and existence.

Also from China, Wendi Xie turned her serendipitous encounter with a group of female silk workers into elegant glass bubbles that encapsulate the hand gestures used in reeling silk from cocoons. Additionally, there are documentary videos of two of Anna Mlasowsky’s glass works. One is a performance exploring women’s changing roles at different stages of life, using glass objects as costumes and props. The other is a glass book, where the content only reveals itself when breathed upon.