Corey Silverman Works

Biography

Corey Silverman was formally trained as a glass artist while getting his BFA at Alfred University in Alfred, NY.  Upon graduating in 1998 he worked with several glass studios around the country before settling in Denver, CO in 1999.  His studies with glass have led him to experiment with slumped forms, casting, cold work, solid sculpting and blowing.  After much experimentation with glass, he found himself always coming back to the blown form.

Corey has been practicing the art of glass for over 20 years now. His experience has ranged from one-of-a-kind work to various production lines for galleries that represent him across the USA. He works in the traditional sense of glass blowing by starting the majority of his projects by gathering clear glass from a furnace and applying layers of glass color. Many of his production lines incorporate an antique finish that creates a classic looking lustre. His one-of-a-kind work showcases sandblasting techniques and free form sculpting of hot glass. His current inspiration comes from moments of reflection on the natural world with a goal of encouraging his viewers to slow down for a minute and enjoy the moment a little bit longer.

Artist Statement

A few years ago, I was daydreaming while washing the dishes in my kitchen. At the time, a tiny air plant nestled in a hand woven basket hung at my eye level. It wasn’t a very impressive air plant to say the least. But it was impressive enough to give me the idea to make a glass air plant. That was a few years ago and several sculptures back. My current sculptures in this series capture motion, color and flexible engineering. The “Tendril” series may look delicate. But by utilizing rare earth magnets to hold the components in place, the owner of the sculpture can feel less trepidation about moving it around or even shipping it to a different home.

Technical aspects aside, I truly wanted to capture a moment of calm in a busy life. The shape of the tendrils capture a moment in time while the glass was in my hands and in a softer state. Making art for me lately is all about creating an object that brings a sense of calm to the viewer. It feels like we’re all just rushing to the next task, looking at another video for 27 seconds, or just driving as fast as we can to get home and make dinner for the family. My current art doesn’t tie itself to a deeper historical context. It simply says, “Take a moment. Relax. It’s all going to be all right.” Because sometimes, we all need to be reminded of this simple fact.