Whanganui's Sarjeant Gallery hosts national glass art exhibition

Mike Crawford won the Lazelle Supreme Award for Kāhu. Photo / Supplied

Work from the country's top glass artists is being exhibited in Whanganui.

The 2022 Members Show from the New Zealand Society of Artists in Glass (NZSAG) attracted 59 entries, with a $3000 prize up for grabs for the winner of the Lazelle Supreme Award.

Winners were announced on Saturday, with Mike Crawford's cast glass piece Kāhu taking out the top spot.

The $1000 merit award went to Lisa Bate's The Pack IV, and Vicki Fanning took home $500 and the Innovation Award for her fairgroundunicorn Glass Crown.

Judges this year were Sarjeant Gallery curator and public programme manager Greg Donson, Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum curator of applied arts and design Grace Li, and Te Papa Tongarewa curator of decorative art and design Justine Olsen.

"This show really does cover the full spectrum of what is possible in working with this magical medium," Donson said.

The NZSAG was formed in 1980 to represent New Zealand's established glass artists, foster new talent and promote contemporary glass to the wider community.

Whanganui is home to New Zealand Glassworks – Te Whare Tūhua O Te Ao, the national centre for art glass.

NZSAG president Emma Camden said it was encouraging to see work from such a mix of emerging and established members of the society.

"We hope that this display of vibrancy and innovation of the transformative medium of glass both educates and inspires the community as well as the next generation of glass enthusiasts."

The exhibition coincides with the United Nations International Year of Glass 2022, which celebrates the diversity and range of contemporary art glass practitioners around the world.

Lai said the exhibited works revived, maintained and challenged disparate glass traditions.

"They span across histories and cultures, from kiln-formed glass to cast glass, connecting them to the global conversation currently taking place."

Voting for the People's Choice Award of $500 is open until the end of January, when the show finishes.

The exhibition is at the Sarjeant's object gallery above the i-Site on Taupō Quay.