Carmen Spera
Artist Statement
Although many describe me as a glass artist, it is more accurate to say I am an artist who works with glass. I started as a painter in the late 1970's, was a pioneer of the vanguard art furniture movement of the 1980's, and eventually stumbled into the glass world by doing reverse-painting on glass after a trip to Haiti in 1981. I've experimented with painting, casting metals and carving wood, but I'm particularly drawn to doing unconventional work with glass. I currently have a studio within a glass-slumping factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn and take advantage of the industrial techniques I'm exposed to there to create art objects infused with sociopolitical commentary that I find interesting and relevant. I've taken the iconic images of assault weapons that typically inspire reactions of fear and discomfort and rendered them fragile by creating them from glass. I've also branded them with high fashion design emblems. These pieces join themes of violence and aggression with luxury and class, and are designed to evoke dialogue on power, the global market and arms trade. I am also reclaiming images that have recently been used by our government and media to spread fear and distrust, and challenging the viewer to perceive them within a larger, more nuanced context. Thorns involves a more classical use of glass, drawing on its magnifying and reflecting qualities through the use of curvature, layering and mirror. This piece reveals itself slowly and incorporates the viewer's image into a prism of beauty and pain. The essence of my work is to find the sacred in everything.
Exhibtions
Guns & Roses | November 12 - December 4, 2012
New York University, M.F.A., 1977;
University of Bologna, Bologna Italy;
Queens College, Flushing, New York, B.F.A., 1974
2005-2008 Flickinger Glassworks, Brooklyn, New York
Coordinator – Special Projects
Design: Glass Panels, Waldorf Astoria, The Rainbow Room
2003-2004 New York University, New York, New York
Teacher - Contemporary Furniture
2002-2004 PRATT Institute, New York, New York
Teacher - Art Furniture Studio Course
2001-2003 Award Design, Special Commissions:
Lincoln Center Winston Marsalis Jazz Award
ASCAP Jazz Foundation Wall of Fame
2000-2002 Katherine Gibbs, New York, New York
Teacher - 3-D Modeling/Visual Communication Department
1999-2008 Set Design, Freelancer
Fashion (Lucky, The Source, Essence, Vibe, Seventeen, InStyle), Advertising (L’Oreal, SoftSheen) and
Recording Artist (Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Patti LaBelle,)
1996-1998 Parsons School of Design, New York, New York
Teacher - Introduction to Furniture Design
Domergue, Denise. Artist-Designed Furniture. New York: Abrams, 1984.
Frank, Peter and Michael McKenzie. New, Used and Improved: Art for the Eighties. New York: Abbeville. 1987.
International Design Yearbook. New York: Abbeville, 1987.
Jepson, Barbara. Art Furniture…American Craft, October/November 1985: 10-17.Z
2010
The Fool and His Friends
Lois Lambert Gallery
2009
(July) Cold and Hot
Micaela Gallery, San Fransisco, California
2008
Thinking Inside the Box
Lois Lambert Gallery, Los Angeles, California
The Gun Series Limited Edition Prints on Paper,
Modern Multiples, Los Angeles, California
G.F.A. Gallery, Los Angeles, California
2007
House of Cards, Lois Lambert Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Totem Series, On Site Installation, Flickinger Glassworks, Brooklyn, New York
2006
Gallery 1816, Bretenoux, France
2005
Leo Kaplan Gallery, New York, New York
2004
Maroma Gallery, Cancun, Mexico
1999
The Odyssey, Neuhoff Gallery, New York, New York
1995
Game Tables, Heller Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
Galleria Due Emme, Genoa Italy
Nuova Era Gallery, Bari Italy
1994
Art et Industrie, New York, New York
Heller Gallery, New York, New York, Also 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992
Leo Kaplan Gallery, New York, New York
Turbulence Gallery, New York, New York
G.F.A. Gallery, Los Angeles, California. Also 1991
Gallery 91, New York, New York, Also 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991
1991
Art et Industrie, New York New York. Also 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990
Dawson Gallery, Rochester, New York
1990
Fuctional Art New York, Brutus Gallery, Osaka, Japan;
IMZ Building Futuoka, Japan
1989
House of Mirrors, Art et Industrie, New York, New York
1988
Tension, Art et Industrie, New York, New Yor
Heller Gallery, New York, New York
1987
Experimental Glass Workshop, New York, New York
Chattahoochee Valley Art Association, Georgia
1986
Art for Money, Fashion Moda Benefit, New York, New York. Also 1980
Meredith Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, New York
1985
New Art, Diverse Works, Houston, Texas
49th Parallel Gallery, New York, New York
1984
House on the Borderline, White Columns, New York, New York
Phoenix Show, Toronto Canada
Post Nuclarism, Red Studio, New York, New York
Terminal Show, New York, New York
1983
Art Furniture, Hokin-Kaufman, Chicago Illinois
Ourhaus, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, New York
Danceteria, New York, New York
1982
Ward Island Sculpture Show, New York, New York
1981
Coney Island Show, Coney Island, New York
Monumental Show, Brooklyn, New York
1977
Hensen Gallery, New York, New York
1975
Galleria d’Arte Grafica, Bologna, Italy