Exhibitions

SABBIA PRESENTS AT SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY 2025

STRANGE ALCHEMY : The Glass Worlds of Nick Mount + Tom Moore

In the heat and commotion of the furnace, glass reveals its duality—both fluid and fragile, ancient and innovative. This exhibition brings together two distinct yet deeply resonant voices in contemporary Australian glass: Nick Mount and Tom Moore.

Though their processes differ, both are captivated by glass as a language—one that speaks in transparency and reflection, in colour, distortion, and light. Where Nick explores the elegance of form, tradition, and the disciplined rhythm of blowing and assembling, Tom dives headfirst into storytelling, bending the medium into surreal worlds populated by hybrid creatures and whimsical machines. Between them, there exists a conversation—a tension between refinement and fantasy, between control and chaos.

Glass is inherently performative; it demands presence, collaboration, and improvisation. These qualities shape our practices. Nick’s work, grounded in the lineage of Venetian techniques, carries an austere beauty, elevated through his meticulous craftsmanship and the harmony of his assembled pieces. In contrast, Tom’s creations are theatrical, cartoonish, and richly narrative, drawing on pop culture, environmentalism, and absurdity to challenge expectations of what glass can be.

Together, Nick and Tom’s works reflect the elasticity of this material and the infinite ways it can embody both personal expression and shared cultural touchstones. In a time when fragility and resilience feel more relevant than ever, we hope this exhibition invites viewers to see glass not only as a medium, but as a mirror—revealing, distorting, and transforming the world around us.