Chad Balster, Glass Artist. Louisville, Kentucky.
Artist Statement:
Glass undergoes a transformation from solid to liquid : liquid to solid. Throughout the process of working this material a glass artist must also undergo a transformation. Tuning one's natural rhythms to the glass is to be sympathetic to it. Without the Artist, the material lies dormant yet full of Potential. Without Glass...we have an empty furnace, nothing to Inspire us.
I am excited to be a part of fusing of energy and action into form. The finished product is born in fire and brought out of the experience of the hotshop. Art that speaks on a number of levels contains more potential for experience. That interaction is what my work is about. It becomes a dialogue between the artist / art / participant. At a distance and over time it will still resonate.
Biography:
Chad first started working in Glass in Minneapolis in 1996 as a balmy summer job. “I’ve been chasing it ever since.” Following "hot glass" to the headwaters of the Mississippi river, to Seattle, and then to Louisville, he’s still hunting down that next piece. Presently in Louisville, Kentucky, he’s a resident artist at Louisville Glassworks; producing art, teaching classes and building mobile glass studios.
Education:
1995-2000 BFA Honors in Painting and Drawing. University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Summa Cum Laude.
1994-1995 Worthington Area Senior High School. Worthington, Minnesota.
1993 Wirtschaft Gymnasium, Crailsheim Germany. Sister City Exchange Ambassador between Worthington, Minnesota and Crailsheim, Germany.
Internships, Residencies:
2011 Resident of Highlands Art Studio, 1220 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, Kentucky.
2004-2011 Resident Artist, Louisville Glassworks, Louisville Kentucky.
2003 Internship, White Pine Studio, Battle Lake Minnesota.
2000-2002 Glass Program, University of Wisconsin, River Falls, Wisconsin.
Selected exhibitions:
2011: "Cherokee Triangle Art Show" Louisville, Kentucky.
2010: "Equinox". The Carriage House Gallery. Old Louisville Kentucky. Duo Show with Gretchen Andres
2009: “Pneuma” Von Fire Gallery, Glassworks. Louisivlle, Kentucky. Chad Balster Solo show. Blown Glass, Video, Installation, Fire performance.
2008: “Ordered Chaos”. Von Fire Gallery, Glassworks. Louisville Kentucky. Blown Glass inspired by the paintings and drawings of Skyler Smith.
2008: “Emerging Artists”, Von Fire Gallery, Glassworks. Louisville Kentucky. A show of emerging Glassworks artists. Blown Glass.
2007: “OVCE: Trash to Treasure”, Cressmann Center. Louisville, Kentucky. Art of the Ohio Valley Creative Energy, a green arts facility planned for Southern Indiana Clark and Floyd County waste facility.
2007: “Dig”, The Ground Floor Gallery, 110 Building. Louisville, Kentucky. Art inspired by the element of Earth. Blown Glass Lingam Installation.
2007: “Ignite”, The Ground Floor Gallery, Glassworks Building. Louisville, Kentucky. Art inspired by the element of Fire. Fire Performance with the Phoenix Collective.
2006: “Saturate”, The Ground Floor Galery, St Francis building. Louisville, Kentucky. Art inspired by the element of Water. Wooden/Glass Bridge Sculpture.
2006: “Inhale”, The Ground Floor Gallery, Riverbend Winery. Louisvile, Kentucky. Art Inspired by the element of Air. Blown/Inhaled Glass.
2005: “Geodesic Jellyfish”, Art Shanty Project, Medicine Lake, Minnesota. Blown Glass Chandelier, Geodesic Dome.
2004: “Reflections and Projections, 4 more years...”, Glassworks Building. Louisville, Kentucky. Politically Inspired Glass, Wood and Meat Sculpture.
2003: “Glass Medicine Wheel”, Burningman Festival, Black Rock City, Nevada. Blown Glass Installation of a Native Medicine Wheel.
2002: “Tales From the Third Side”, Flatland Gallery, Minneapolis Minnesota. Blown Glass and Lighting.
2001: “Dynamic Liquidity”, Flatland Gallery, Minneapolis Minnesota. Blown Glass.
2000: "Manifested Destiny, Thesis Presentation", Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, Mn. Blown Glass, Paintings, Cast Bronze, Photography.
1999: “Foot in the Door”, Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota. All work in this group show was 1’x1’. Exhibited Painting of the Mississippi 35W bridge that later collapsed in 2007.
1994: “Amateur Artists’ Alliance” A Group exhibit of sister-city artists from 5 countries. Show in Crailsheim, Germany and Marienbad, Czech Republic. Exhibited drawings on duality.
Awards/Commissions:
2008-2011 Commission and Construction of Juicy Lucy, a mobile glassblowing studio based out of a van. All the equipment was designed specifically to be portable. Future plans include using Waste Vegetable Oil for firing the furnace as well as fuelling the Van. Louisville Glassworks uses this program for glass education and object making workshops in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Historical Credit: The history of Waldglass is interesting to me. The artisans who worked in these glasshouses created mugs and cups that seemed alive with moving glass. I love the expressive, dynamic bitwork and organic aesthetic from that era and region. The fluidity of the honey-like glass is brought out in the finished object. I enjoy bringing that exciting moment from the hotshop to the world.
