George Handy

Glass Artist / Cubist Sculpture

Historically, cubist elements in sculpture were never fully developed in the early 20^th century, there was a brief pursuit, but Picasso and Braque moved rapidly to the figure leaving cubist sculpture mostly undeveloped.  Frank Stella implied in his book Working Space, that there remains a major gap. My wall sculptures attempt to explore in sculpture what the cubist left behind as it was only fully explored in painting.

 With elements of compound-complex angles and skewed perspectives my forms invite viewer interaction, asks to be engaged in order to discover the subtle angles within. My intention is to create a visual dynamic; a sense of ‘undulation.’ The boldest colors are reserved for the side panels of each element, whereas the hues seen from the frontal perspective are subtle.  The forms are understated and their rich colors are intentionally hidden:  when a viewer becomes engaged, the full impact of the piece is revealed. I have designed this series of wall relief designs for corporate, public lobbies, and residential clients: my web site displays the variety of these, some up to forty feet in length.

The White Heron sign above, created by George Handy.

Website:  www.georgehandy.com

E-mail:  george@georgehandy.com

Glass:

The glass work is a play with shadow, thus light is an important element in this work.  The etched images are shadow-cast upon the abstract background painting, creating interaction and a tension between the two.

It is an overlay; and the work reflects the idea that life is a composition of layers and textures, the inner and outer create what is presented in the everyday as a reality which is in effect a combination of subjective and objective experience. 

Each piece is constructed with a 1 ¼ inch deep frame.  The background surface is painted with acrylic and mixed media designs both representational and abstract.

The foreground glass is sandblasted intricately with deep relief imagery and in this ¼ inch glass the 1/32 deep carvings have the appearance of a three dimensional sculptural visual effect.  Animal imagery is used in many as well as geometric shapes from architecture and floral plant life.

 (This etched imagery is applied on the reverse side of each panel of glass allowing a smooth, consistent surface on the front for ease of maintenance and cleaning

 The one inch space between the glass and the painting allows each image’s shadow to be cast on the background.  This visual effect is apparent in each photo: some shadows are cast at the bottom or at the left side. The variety is created by the different positions of the light source focused on the artwork.

Additionally, surrounding the interior perimeter of each frame there is detailed painting as well as a ¾ inch oval rod of optical glass.  This serves as the spacer between the glass and the painted imagery.  This optical glass adds additional light as well as a dynamic visual effect because the lines and colors applied on the frame’s interior are uniquely altered due to the curve of the oval glass rod.