Amy Ellen Schleif – Seeing

In her latest collection, artist Amy Ellen Schleif continues to push the conceptual and physical limits of her glasswork practice. Originally from Michigan in the United States, Amy has been working with glass since 1999. She relocated to Canberra in 2007 to pursue her work at the acclaimed ANU Glass Workshop.

“For a number of years now, I have been exploring what spiritual space may look like at any given time. I work to consider how our emotions andperspective impact what this space may look like. As these human states are in a constant state of change, then it would make sense that our spiritual spaces are also in a constant state of change,” explained Amy.

In Seeing, Amy pursues these themes through the use of colour layering and reflections – the works begin to reveal themselves over a period of time.

The artist also incorporates reclaimed and everyday objects into her practice, as she explained: “They act as a vehicle that provides a sense of comfort, an immediately recognisable object, for the viewer to consider the more confronting ideas of the work…”

“I think the principal feature that draws me to work with glass is its complexity, both visually and technically,” said Amy. “Glass can present some interesting challenges both visually and technically. In a visual sense, it can be paradoxical in that it can focus the viewers attention by providing a “looking glass” to what is beyond and block the viewer from seeing past the surface with it’s reflection of light. In this exhibition at FOSTERED, I work to manipulate this complexity.” (AM)

Until Oct 20. FOSTERED, Level 4, 74-84 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills. Info: www.fostered.com.au or www.southheadstudio.wixsite.com/amy-ellen-schleif-