19 May 2010

The Glass Delusion, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK.

'The Glass Delusion' was the name given in the late Middle Ages and Baroque times to a form of depression. The syndrome evokes a psychological separation between reality and imagination. Sufferers were obsessive, compulsive, driven by irrational fears and envisioned themselves to be made of glass, hence delicate and vulnerable to scrutiny. More than any other material glass lends itself to speculations: as a transparent membrane it separates and connects, magnifies yet shrinks, reflects and deforms; it is a barrier, yet allows light to pass through it, it can be delicate as well as deadly and its attributes are appropriated in many symbolic ways: the Glass Brain and the Glass Man; mirror image, alter ego, Doppelganger, and split personality all come to mind. It is this duality, the ability to combine opposites, that is the inspiration for this exhibition of contemporary art, artefacts and scientific objects that tell the story of human attempts to reconcile the physical and mental worlds.

'The Glass Delusion' includes a new commission by American artist Matt Mullican, supported by the Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Newcastle University and Wearside Glass, which explores the artist's fascination with the visual manifestations of the relationship between information and perception.

Joao Penalva, part of 'The Glass Delusion is only showing at NOVEMBER gallery, 46 Lower Dundas Street, Sunderland from Friday 21 May – Thursday 15 July. NOVEMBER gallery opens Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 3pm.

Curated by Grainne Sweeney, National Glass Centre and guest curator, Alessandra Pace.

Special Events

Artist's Talk by Alan Bennett: Thursday 20 May, 4-5.30pm
Alan Bennett will guide you through some of his fascinating works in glass, including his Klein Bottles.

The Glass Music Programme: Tuesday 15 June, 7-8.30pm
Produced by NGC, introduced and curated by Richard Bernas with Northern Sinfonia, orchestra of The Sage Gateshead and featuring Alasdair Molloy – one of the few performers of the legendary Glass Harmonica.

'The Glass Delusion' Film Programme presented in collaboration with Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne and Lux, London. Screenings take place on Wednesday 29th September, Thursday 30th September and Sunday 3rd October at Star & Shadow Cinema. Visit www.nationalglasscentre.com for further details.

Artists include: Meris Angioletti, Celia Baker, Alan Bennett, Malcolm W. Browne, Annie Cattrell, Attila Csörgö, Katharine Dowson, Peter. J. Evans, Thomas Florschuetz, Helga Griffiths, Carla Guagliardi, Susan Hiller, Christoph Keller, Jorge Macchi, Cristiano Mangione, Anne Vibeke Mou, Matt Mullican, João Penalva, Roger Penrose, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Richard Rigg, Fred Sandback, Beryl Sokoloff/Clarence Schmidt, Jana Sterbak, Vedovamazzei, Alfie West.

Artefacts and objects from: Beamish Museum, Co. Durham, Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums, The Science Museum, London and Great North Museum Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne.