Navaglass Art Studio
NAVAGLASS ART STUDIO
@anamarianavaglass
navaglassart@gmail.com
www.anamarianava.glass
ANA MARIA NAVA.
1962, MARACAIBO, VENEZUELA.
ARCHITECT ( UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA 1989) AND GLASS ARTIST SINCE 1995. ANA MARIA BEGINS WORKING IN GLASS IN 1995, AT FIRST IN STAINED GLASS AND SINCE 2002 IN KILN FORMED GLASS. SINCE THEN SHE WORKS IN DIFFERENT GLASS TECHNIQUES FOCUSING IN THE INTEGRATION OF GLASS SCULPTURES AND INSTALLATIONS TO ARCHITECTURAL SITES. IN 2004 STUDIES KILN-CASTING AT PILCHUCK GLASS SCHOOL WITH SUSAN BALSHOR AND CAROL MILNE. SHE HAS ATTENDED SEVERAL BULLSEYE GLASS WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES WHERE SHE HAS TAKEN CLASSES WITH SILVIA LEVENSON, RICHARD PARRISH, NARCISSUS QUAGLIATA AND JUDY TUWALETSTIWA. ANA MARIA HAS INVESTIGATED TEXTILES FOR MANY YEARS AND TRANSLATES HER RESEARCH INTO INTRICATE AND STRONG GLASS TEXTILES. AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF HER WORK IS IT’S INTEGRATION TO ARCHITECTURAL ENVIRONMENTS.
SHE HAS BEEN AWARDED 4 TIMES AT THE FIRE ARTS BIENNIAL IN VALENCIA, VENEZUELA, A JURIED SHOW THAT IS HELD SINCE 1971. HER WORK IS PRESENT IN ART COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS AND EUROPE. SHE HAS PARTICIPATED IN IMPORTANT ART FAIRS SUCH AS ART MIAMI, ART PALM BEACH, ART CONTEXT, ARTBO, FIA, FIAAM, JUST TO NAME A FEW. HER WORK HAS BEEN EXHIBITED IN VENEZUELA, USA AND EUROPE THROUGH A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE ART SHOWS. IN 2018, HER GLASS TEXTILES WERE SHOWN AT THE LOMMEL GLASS MUSEUM, IN THE ICONIC TOWER OF THE GLAZENHUIS IN BELGIUM. MORE RECENTLY HER WORK IS TOURING 3 MUSEUMS IN THE USA DURING 2022/ 2023 IN THE SHOW TG- TRANSITIONS IN KILN GLASS, AT THE BELLEVUE ART MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON ( JAN 2022) AT PITTSBURG GLASS CENTER ( JULY 2022) AND AT THE HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT ( FEB 2023) WHERE IT IT CONCLUDE IN MAY 2023. HER PIECES ARE SHOWCASED IN GALLERIES IN BELGIUM, AUSTRIA, VENEZUELA AND THE USA. IN 2021 ANA MARIA RELOCATED TO MIAMI, WHERE SHE OPENED NAVAGLASS ART STUDIO IN 2022. IN THE FALL OF 2022 SHE WAS INVITED TO A RESIDENCY AT PILCHUCK GLASS SCHOOL LED BY STEVE KLEIN AND RICHARD PARRISH.
ABOUT HER WORK SHE SAYS:
"EVER SINCE I HAVE BEEN MAKING ART , I HAVE HAD SEVERAL INVESTIGATIONS GOING ON. I CONTINUE TO EXPLORE ALL OF THEM , SOME TIMES SIMULTANEOUSLY, OR ONE OR TWO AT A TIME. I EXPLORE COLORS, THE WAY THEY RELATE TO EACH OTHER, I EXPLORE MOVEMENT AND FLOW, THE LIQUID CHARACTERISTICS OF GLASS AND IT'S ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES. I EXPLORE LIGHT, SPACE AND SHADOWS, TEXTURES. SPACE IS THE REASON FOR ALL”.
SPACE IS KEY TO ME, AS AN ARCHITECT IS THE FIRST THING THAT DRAWS ME. SPACE SPEAKS TO ME AND MAKES ME COME WITH IDEAS THAT EVENTUALLY BECOME ART WORKS THAT BECOME ONE WITH IT. GLASS WITH IT’S INFINITE POSSIBILITIES IS THE PROTAGONIST IN THIS JOURNEY, WITH THE INTERACTION WITH LIGHT IT ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PASSERBY. EVERY SPACE HAS IT’S PARTICULAR CHALLENGES AND MAKES ME RESPOND WITH A VERY SITE SPECIFIC ART WORK. EACH SPACE IS UNIQUE, SO IS THE ART FOR IT.
LINKED ELEMENTS ARE PRESENT ALL AROUND US, IN NATURE , IN OUR OWN BODIES , IN MAN MADE ENVIRONMENT, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE..
I HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING LINKED STRUCTURES AND WEFTS, SINCE 1999 USING FUSED GLASS AS AN ELEMENT THAT WOVEN IN A CERTAIN WAY FORMS ENTIRE UNIVERSES OF COLOR AND LIGHT. EACH ELEMENT HAS IT'S OWN "DNA" , IT'S INDIVIDUALITY , YET THEY FORM A WHOLE THAT BELONGS TOGETHER. THESE PIECES BECOME DELICATE YET STRONG GLASS TEXTILES THAT FLOAT IN SPACE.
I AM INTRIGUED WITH THE IDEA OF MAKING GLASS TEXTILES WITH A MATERIAL THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE FRAGILE, DELICATE, RIGID. GLASS, WHEN TRANSFORMED INTO A MESH BECOMES STRONG AND FLEXIBLE AT THE SAME TIME. THIS CONTRADICTION IS VERY APPEALING .
TAKING OVER SPACE WITH THE MESHES IN DIFFERENT WAYS IS PART OF MY RESEARCH ALONG WITH PLAYING WITH LIGHT AND COLOR . WHEN LIGHT PASSES THROUGH GLASS IT HITS THE SURROUNDINGS COLONIZING THEM, THE DIFFERENT SHAPES THAT TAKE THE WEAVINGS WHEN DISPLAYED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER IS AN ASPECT OF THE INVESTIGATION: VERSATILITY , FLEXIBILITY AND VOLUME . THE AESTHETIC AND SPATIAL POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.
INTENSE COLOR AND LIGHT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE. I AM DRAWN TO EXPLORE THEM.
COLOR SPLASHES AND FLOATING SHADOWS ARE INSTALLATIONS THAT EVOLVED FROM THE UNIT OF THE WEFTS, THE SMALL COLOR SPLASH. IT EVOLVED INTO LARGER PIECES WITH IRREGULAR BORDERS THAT FLOAT ON WALLS AND CEILINGS CREATING SHADOWS THAT DIALOGUE WITH THE PIECE ITSELF BECOMING PART OF IT .
IN OTHER PIECES, THE LIQUID STRUCTURES, I LOOK FOR FLUIDITY, THE MOVEMENT OF WATER, THE TRACE THAT IT LEAVES ON IT'S WAY. IT REMAINS FROZEN WITHIN THE GLASS VOLUME, APPEARING TO KEEP ON MOVING. I GET ANOTHER CONTRADICTION: STATIC MOVEMENT..
MY CHILDHOOD WAS SURROUNDED BY WATER, BY A LAKE. THIS EXPERIENCE HAS LEFT A DEEP MARK IN ME. I FIND MYSELF REPRODUCING WATER, CURRENTS, DUNES...
ORGANIC STRUCTURES ARE ALSO PART OF MY INVESTIGATION, IN A WAY THEY ARE ALSO AN EVOLUTION OF THE MESH WHERE THE STATIC MOVEMENT APPEARS AGAIN..
MY INVESTIGATION IN GLASS IS ALWAYS EVOLVING . I AM ITAKEN BY THE NATURE OF THE MATERIAL
I OFTEN FIND MYSELF THINKING : WHAT IF?"
FOR ME GLASS , BEYOND IT'S QUALITIES HAS BECOME A MEDIUM TO EXPERIMENT IN VERY CONTEMPORARY PIECES.
Exhibitions:
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Upcoming Exhibitions:
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