Etsuko Nishi

(Japanese)
Etsuko's work is dedicated to a vision of a material – glass - and its potential. Early in her career she was attracted to several aspects of ancient and 19th Century pâte de verre - its delicate, grainy texture, its subdued matte finish, and refinement of shape, all very different from the glistening robustness of the hot glass aesthetic of that time.  Perhaps influenced by the vessel culture she experienced in Seattle, as well as the art of basketry of Japan, she was particularly intrigued with ancient Roman "cage (layered) vessels". She sought to recreate these, but in an entirely new aesthetic for pâte de verre: one of far greater delicacy than the opaque, static shapes of earlier times. She began to explore techniques for softer shapes in her multi-layered vessels, each layer permeated with a network of openings, as if glass strands had been woven together.

Visit Gallery