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Product Placement
Andy Paiko
Andy Paiko’s otherworldly
glass objects are like curios one
might encounter at Hogwarts,
or in Tim Burton’s house. Or-
nate bell jars enshrine gold-plat-
ed chunks of coyote spine or
other odd fetishes, transformed
as if by alchemy. An absinthe
fountain, etched with skull and
crossbones, conjures a ritual
partaking of wicked spirits.
A “lube rack” showcases a sly
assortment of quirky wee con-
tainers filled with “everything
for the friction-free existence,”
from motor oil to Vaseline to
bourbon. These are elegant im-
plements for strange doings.
“I try to play with function-
ality,” says Paiko, 32, whose
down-to-earth manner contrasts
with the gothic eccentricity of
his works. “I really try to stay
away from objects for objects’
sake, on a pedestal, function-
less.” Based in Portland, OR,
he divides his production into
“vesselware” (candlesticks©,
vases © and other decorative
but conventionally useful items)
and “sculptural vesselware”
(such as the bell jars), all of
which he’ll happily customize.
Then there are his pure “sculp-
tures,” which include some
wildly unlikely contrivances
in glass: a fairy-tale spinning
wheel that can actually produce
yarn, a seismograph that can
measure earthquakes and
Locus
©, a funhouse-like mirror re-
flecting distorted images. An
art history professor who saw
Paiko’s pieces at the
ACC
Balti-
more craft show remarked that
they seemed “somewhat out
of time,” at once antiquated
and futuristic. It was, the artist
says, “the best compliment
I ever got.”
Paiko also cherishes the best
advice he ever got, a withering
critique from a college art teach-
er, who dismissed his glass cups,
bowls and vases as ho-hum, and
challenged him to experiment
with different forms. “It shook
me up,” he recalls. So he made
a glass hammer. “I’m sure it
wasn’t the first. Still, it was an
ironic object. It would work,
but only once.” The feeling of
freedom it gave him has in-
formed his approach to the me-
dium ever since. He recently
completed his most adventurous
project to date, a collaboration
with the composer Ethan Rose
for Portland’s Museum of Con-
temporary Craft, where the
two created a gallery of kinetic
sound by filling a room with 40
wall-mounted reinterpretations
of the glass armonica (an instru-
ment invented by Benjamin
Franklin that generates tone
through friction on glass, like
a wet finger rubbed around
the rim of a goblet).
Most days, Paiko bikes to
his studio downtown where he
blows individual glass compo-
nents that he later builds into
elaborate constructions in his
garage. Sometimes his wife, an
art teacher with a more “clean,
spare” aesthetic, lends an eye
and counsels just the right touch
of restraint, he says. “Left un-
checked, I tend toward the
baroque.”—-J.L.
andypaikoglass.com
DC /Washington
Renwick Gallery
The A rt o f Gaman
to Jan. 30,2011
americanart.si.edu
Japanese Americans in U.S.
internment camps during
World War 11 created
arts and crafts essential
for both creature comforts
and emotional stability.
FL / St. Petersburg
Florida Craftsmen, Inc.
The Artful Table
to May 29
floridacraftsmen.net
From functional to ornamental,
items for the table are show-
cased by arranging them in
dining room settings, complete
with entrees from local
restaurants.
IA / Iowa City
AKAR
Mark Shapiro, Brad Schwieger
May 28-June 18
akardesign.com
Elements of utility pair with
gestural markings in this two-
person exhibition that addresses
the relationship between
the sculptural and functional
in pottery.
O K.Y / Louisville
Kentucky Museum of Art
and Craft
Glass Jewelry: A n International
Passion for Design
Apr. 24-July 17
kentuckyarts.org
Joyce Roessler’s
Tubes Brooch
exemplifies both the sophisti-
cated methods and spirit of
nonconformity of the artists
who choose to create jewelry
with glass.
012 american craft apr/mayio
