David Calles Works

Glassblower David Calles was born in Argentina. He left home in 1973, when he was sixteen, and lived in London and Mexico, where he continued his education and learned to work silver. Upon returning to Argentina, he trained and worked in a factory that produced radiators. In 1983, Calles moved to Providence, Rhode Island, earned a B.A. degree from Brown University, spent a year in New Mexico making jewelry, and majored in glass at Sheridan College. In 2007, he opened his own glassblowing studio in Victoria, B.C. His studio is a place where glass artists can also make their work and where non-glass artists and designers can have work made for them.

Working in a studio that overlooks the waterways of Victoria, David Calles is influenced by his natural surroundings. He passionately endeavors to capture a “little shock of color from nature” in his vivacious sculptures. His “Pimpollo” series are titled after the Argentine word for any perfect and elegant object. Elements of each blown glass piece — understated forms, bold cane patterns, variations in surface texture — are meticulously crafted to effectively highlight the relationships between contrasting and complimentary hues.