Bodil BUSK LAURSEN

To participate as a juror in The Final Assessment of The international Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa is a unique possibility to meet contemporary glass artists from many corners of the world. When I talk about meeting the artists it is of course a matter of speaking for what we meet are the works by many talented and brilliant artists who have dedicated their skills and dreams (and often their lives) to work with glass. It is a moving experience that fills your heart and brain as the hours pass during the day of The Final Assessment, and it is not an easy task to decide who is going to be awarded in the end. 

The discussions between the jurors are very helpful, informal and enlightening and secure the validity of the choices we make.

Also the professionalism of the Design Center Ishikawa in organizing and facilitating the event is impressive and imperative for the outcome that is to bring together a great number of artworks in an exhibition and to produce a very interesting and important documentation of the participating makers. What an opportunity for everybody in love with glass to visit the exhibition, I hope that some day the exhibition could be shown at other venues outside Japan. 

The importance of the project is well known internationally among glass artists and sending the exhibition abroad may attract even more applications. The dedication of the Ishikawa prefecture and Kanazawa City to continue The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa is admirable and very important for the ongoing development of glass art. 

Looking at the works represented in Kanazawa for the 2019 exhibition it is evident, as by previous occasions that the Japanese glass art is of the utmost quality and daring. It is not a mere coincidence that each time the majority of prizes go to Japanese artists, and I find it striking that the variety of expressions is obvious and so is the courage to experiment. The same qualifications are represented in many of the works selected for the exhibition. As a juror one looks for originality in expression and inspirational strength, and it is of interest that the Grand Prize three times (2013, 2016 and 2019) have been awarded to very young glass artists. In 2019 the work “Oscillation ’19-3” by Hidenori TSUMORI is a powerful and dramatic way of making glass express the forces of the universe. 

Contemporary glass art is global but is created by individual artists so it is a personal affair rather than a national or regional.

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