Michael Mikula

This body of work looks to the built environment for its patterns, forms and details, especially early twentieth century structures. Designers in this period utilized and celebrated ornament and craftsmanship. I explore a process using hand carved multi-part graphite molds to reinterpret architectural form in blown glass, highlighting the visual effects of positive and negative form in this transparent material. The resulting body of work is titled “Architectonic Blown Glass”.  Each mold is assembled with a jazz-like sense of improvisation from the artist’s large and growing library of interchangeable parts that he hand carves. As a result, no two compositions are ever alike. Once cooled, the resulting deeply dimensional cast and blown forms are cut open, polished and thoughtfully recomposed within an integral metal armature of anodized aluminum and stainless steel. Shown alongside these one-of-a-kind works are a series of related limited production sculptural blown glass vessels. “Think of a Louise Nevelson sculpture to imagine what a mold looks like as molten glass fills the form – taking its shape in reverse. My use of color is purposefully understated to focus attention on form and how light is captured and refracted through it”.  “My goal is that each piece be a well-designed and crafted object with integrity and lasting value”.