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by Manos Angelakis
Soft Explosion by Jeff Zimmerman
Steuben Glass
667 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10021
Glass and crystal are media few current American artists have used successfully to create items of high artistic merit.
Yes, Louis Comfort Tiffany, motivated by the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement of the period, created marvelous and highly collectable pieces of art glass including his celebrated Favrile stained glass windows and lamps, but he passed away in 1933 and, since then, few have followed in his footsteps. On the other hand, French, German, Czech, Irish, Belgian, Japanese and Swedish glassmakers are still creating exceptional pieces both classic and modern, decorative and/or practical. Baccarat, Waterford, Cristallerie des Sèvres, Daum and Orrefors are some of the firms that come to mind when talking about creative work in glass and crystal and, of course, the entire island of Murano in Venice is dedicated to creating both artistic masterpieces and, unfortunately, over the top kitsch.
A preeminent name in the United States glass circles is Steuben Glass. The Steuben Glass Works was incorporated in 1903 by Thomas G. Hawkes and Frederick Carder, an English glassmaker specializing in colorful, Art Nouveau glass typical of the period. In 1918, Corning Glass Works acquired Steuben and in 1932 a technological breakthrough by Corning researchers created a brilliant glass of extremely high refractivity dubbed "10M." This is the extraordinary material for which Steuben is renowned today.
Among contemporary American artists who employ glass as a means of expression, Jeff Zimmerman is known for his organic forms that curve and bend. The goal of his glass sculptures, he says, is to evoke "a realm... that exists between the things we can actually see and touch and what is invisible but nevertheless powerfully present in our sense of the world..."
Mr. Zimmerman’s collection of six designs and one-of-a-kind objects in lead crystal called “Soft Explosion”, debuted on October 17, 2006 at Steuben’s main retail store on Madison Avenue,  in New York City. These art objects explore techniques of advanced glass making as well as the physical characteristics of glass itself. Each object shows individual personality, many are similar but never identical. They have been inspired by nature, such as the monumental centerpiece of fallen crystal tree trunks, or the splash of water on a liquid surface.
The “Splish Bowl” evokes the image of a mountain-clear-water-drop exploding upwards, when it drips from the spout of an imaginary Japanese garden bamboo pipe.
 The “Splash Bowl” gives a circular movement to the same water drop.
Large, medium and small crystal trunks can be displayed individually, in a set of three - as in the image to the left, or as an assembly of many, creating an imaginary crystal forest.
For art collectors, these creations of Mr. Zimmerman’s are a chance to acquire exquisite pieces from one of the eminent artists of today.
© November 2006 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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