Exhibitions

Sabbia Gallery is pleased to present this beautiful solo exhibition, by Nicole Ayliffe, one of Australia’s most promising up and coming contemporary glass artists. Nicole has been a finalist in several prestigious awards including the Vicki Torr Gallery Prize, Young Glass International, Germany, The Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, Ranamok Glass Prize, Glass Art Society Award, Adelaide City Council Award for Visual Art and South Australian Decorative & Fine Arts Society Arts Prize. Having already enjoyed considerable exhibiting success internationally, she is certainly a promising glass artist, and one to watch.

“The optical qualities of glass serve as an ongoing foundation for development within the ‘Optical Landscape’ series. The thickness of the form gives the illusion of space, creating an optical lens. The black and white photographic images used in this exhibition reference the Australian landscape, and are highlighted by the refraction of light through the glass form. Many of the photographic images have been taken along the coastline of Australia, where I spend much of my time surfing and exploring the natural environment. I also find inspiration in the repetition of line within the landscape, such as ploughed fields, the rows of vineyards or the furrowed lines on the surface of the sand. I find these types of recurring patterns respond particularly well with the thickness of the glass forms, creating movement, depth and distortion.

This repetition of line within the landscape led to the development of the ‘Coldworked Series’. These designs etched onto the glass is created both through sandblasting and cutting on the lathe. When these patterns are viewed through the front surface, the differing angles create a three-dimensional illusion of patterns within a landscape.”

NICOLE AYLIFFE, 2007