World renowned glass artists exhibit at Habatat Detroit

Sep 15, 2023

Habatat Detroit launched the 51st Annual Glass Invitational Award Exhibition on June 9, welcoming world renowned glass artists with a spectacular display of a multitude of glass mediums and techniques.

Located in Royal Oak, Habatat Detroit is the oldest and largest contemporary art glass gallery in the world. The show, which is free and open to the public, was established by Habatat founder Ferdinand Hampson in 1971, welcoming the world's most celebrated glass artists to metro Detroit. This year, the glass celebration marks the final event of The Glass Art Society Conference, a conference that brings together not only the finest glass artists in the world but museum curators, collectors and academics in the art glass community.

Among the artists exhibiting at Habatat is John Moran, who recently won first place in the third season of "Blown Away’ on Netflix. Now residing in Belgium, Moran's very unique style takes glass artistry to a whole new level. A politically and socially engaged hot glass sculptor and mixed media artist, Moran is co-founder of Gent Glas, a public glass studio where professional Belgian glass makers and international contemporary artists, designers and craftsmen meet and explore the art medium.

Moran said he discovered glass art nearly 30 years ago when he was studying at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia. Previously the artist's focus had been on painting and illustrating, however friends recommended that he take a glass art class. Moran was hooked.

"I took the class in glass work and was fascinated by the techniques," he said, adding that the collaborative nature of the art medium as well as the endless evolution of methods to work with glass have only fueled his passion through the years.

Moran will be among more than 400 artists from around the world showing their work, many of whom will be at the exhibition. Aaron Schey, director of Habatat Detroit, said the exhibit "gives the public a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with so many artists and members of the glass art community."

One of the goals of the annual exhibition is to acquaint the public with the world of glass art.

Founded just nine years after the concept of glass as an art material began being explored in a garage on the found of the Toledo Art Museum, Habatat has grown and earned an international reputation over the past 50+ years. Since 2013, the gallery has been guided by Hampson's two sons, Aaron Schey and Corey Hampson, and last year it changed its official name to Habatat Detroit.

"This is the 51st year of doing the international show, and it is more exciting than ever," Schey said. "Techniques are becoming more elaborate, and the science used in the art form is getting better, allowing artists to create amazing pieces. Many artists infuse social commentary into their work. The younger people appreciate the expressiveness, and the veteran artists share the natural process of the work."

Originally, people involved with studio glass were not accepted or recognized by the fine art community. Eventually, an almost cult-like crop of collectors, as well as a few forward, independent thinking curators and a few galleries willing to promote the medium began the art forms acceptance.

"For Habatat, promotion, innovation and a willingness to exhibit the riskiest concepts that artists had to offer were the keys for our eventual success," Schey said, adding that today the world of contemporary art glass has grown dramatically from its beginnings of mostly blown glass to constantly evolving creative ways of working with glass including cast, slumped, fused, flamed, and laminated glass works of art.

Since those early days, Habatat Galleries has orchestrated over a hundred museum and art center exhibitions, setting attendance records several times. Habatat has produced more literature than any gallery involved in the glass medium, including 25 major catalogs, five books and an additional 50 artists exhibition catalogs.

The 51st Annual Glass Invitational Award Exhibition continues through August 18. The gallery is located at 4400 Fernlee in Royal Oak and is open daily Tuesday through Saturday (Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 12 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Admission is free. For more on the exhibit, visit habatat.com or call 248-554-0590.

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