P3Studio Artist-in-Residence Brent Sommerhauser
August 12 – September 13, 2015
Hours: Wednesday & Thursday | 5 – 10PM; Friday – Sunday | 6 – 11PM
P3Studio
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in partnership with Art Production Fund, is pleased to announce P3Studio artist-in-residence Brent Sommerhauser. Although glass is all around us, its use as an art material has an air of mystery. Inside P3Studio, Sommerhauser will introduce guests to kiln-formed glass, demonstrate the process of working with it and showcase the potential of this dynamic art-making material.
Guests will have the opportunity to create small ‘sketches’ in glass by layering rich color combinations of glass powder, glass strings and other glass elements over Bullseye handmade glass tiles that Sommerhauser will fire in his Olympic glass kilns. The resulting tiles will be photographed and shared on his Instagram account @P3ArtGlass. Then, the tiles will be combined and contribute to a growing work that will serve as a record of those that participated, filling P3Studio with light, color and pattern.
Kiln-formed glass is created by assembling and heating opalescent and transparent glass elements in a kiln to around 1,500 F until it softens and fuses together into single sheet of glass that can have exceptional color definition, richness and saturation. While the actual design process can be quite direct, the fusing process generally takes days to become fully realized. After the initial fusing, the glass can be further manipulated, layered and fused again and again until the desired form and color is achieved. Kiln-glass is especially rich territory for artists because it encompasses an enormous range of working methods including drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and more. Although shapes and patterns may be repeated, each kiln formed glass work is completely unique since the glass is handmade and evidence of the process is often visible in the final product.
Sommerhauser, a Las Vegas-based artist, received his Master’s of Fine Art from The Ohio State University and has since exhibited in group and solo exhibitions across the United States and abroad. Notably, his sculpture was included in the 2004 Windsor Biennial and was selected for New Glass Review 26, featuring innovative works in glass worldwide. He is also a participant in the Telegraph Art Collective, which originated in Detroit and functions as a running conversation, typically conducted at long range. Occasionally the group materializes and collects in one location to collaborate on projects and exhibitions.
Although Sommerhauser works in a variety of art materials and process, he has over 20 years of experience in a wide range of glass-forming processes including glassblowing, casting, kiln forming, sculpture and vitreography. In addition to his own glass work and teaching, he has assisted a number of artists realize their vision in glass through sculptural, architectural and public works. He recently returned from assisting with a special project in Murano, Italy, the fabled island in the Venetian Lagoon where glass has been made for more than 700 years. He has taught at Pilchuck Glass School, one of the world’s most comprehensive centers for glass art education.
The artist-in-residence program at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas represents one component of its larger art program, in which artists create projects that are interactive and participatory, giving guests the opportunity to connect at an authentic and personal level. Developed and curated in partnership with Art Production Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing ambitious public art projects, it strives to reach new audiences and expand awareness through contemporary art.
