CMU School of Drama


Saturday, May 06, 2017

Phipps Conservatory Brings Larger-Than-Life Glass Art Exhibit to Pittsburgh

NEXTpittsburgh: When Dale Chihuly exhibited his glass art at Phipps in 2007, he left a lasting impact that would resonate with guests for years to come. Now, ten years later, Phipps is excited to present a new glass art show, SUPER. NATURAL., created by Jason Gamrath, a master glass artist from Seattle.

Gamrath creates botanical pieces that are remarkably accurate representations of their living counterparts — only on a massive scale. Standing anywhere from six to 14 feet tall, his larger-than-life pieces are sure to amaze.

8 comments:

Julian Goldman said...

It is really nice to be reading article about cool things happening in the Pittsburgh area now that I actually have time to go do things. I will probably go see this sometime this afternoon or next Friday night to see them with the lights. Overall, these all look very well crafted and I think the idea of putting art like this in an environment like Phipps is a very cool concept. It’ll also be nice to have read a bit about the process when I go see it so I have a better idea of what I’m looking at. This article also made me realize I should pay more attention to what is happening at Phipps, because they have a lot of interesting events, but I probably have no idea most of them are happening even though I can get in with my student ID and can walk over there from campus in about 5 minutes.

Cosette Craig said...

The first thing I saw when I opened this article was Julian’s comment about having time to do things and I sighed looking out upon Purnell as arcade unfolds before me. That said, I second his thankfulness for Pittsburgh articles being included on the green page because if by some stroke of luck, I am free for a bit I like to experience the culture of the city. I love how the artist’s work is this larger-than-life representation of the foliage that exists in the conservatory and looks hyper real when surrounding by its inspirers. I’ve been wanting to take the hot glass class to gain some perspective on the intricacy of creating pieces like this, so this to me is more of an ad for that class than anything. It’s interesting that they chose an artist who based his work in realism when exhibits before him have been very abstract representations of the things surrounding them.

Vanessa Ramon said...

This exhibit sounds so cool. We have all wondered exactly how Alice felt in Wonderland being so tiny. Well, I know I have and its so cool that we can get a little sense of that with this new exhibit. I think its really neat how Phipps works with artists in this way. I had never thought about combining these two things but it makes so much sense. I have always loved going to phipps because its such a peaceful place to get lost in and relax. I think the addition of this exhibit will making exploring all of the different rooms even more fun. The art that Dale Chihuly creates sounds like it fits in perfectly with this relaxing vibe. The fact that he cam make such organic looking art with glass seems really beautiful. I will definitely try to make it to phipps before I leave to check out this interesting exhibit.

Zak Biggins said...

This is so exciting. I love Phipps! I think its so cool that we have a place as beautiful as Phipps right in our backyard at CMU (more importantly, it's FREE!!) Phipps is a wonderful resource for inspiration (for photography or design class or literally anything) and to stress relieve- it's so cool that they even host events for us at Carnegie Mellon. Every time a new exhibit goes up at Phipps I try to get there on the opening day bc the attention to detail is magnificent. My favorite exhibit I have seen there thus far was the Christmas Lights Display they had going on during the holiday season- the colors were out of this world. I agree with Vanessa, the new art exhibit will do very well at Phipps because of the already established vibe! The Gift shop at Phipps contributes to the artistic and relaxed feeling and this new exhibit will do just the same. I know what I'm doing before I go home.

Lauren Miller said...

Glass art never fails to be breathtaking. I am excited to see the new additions to the Phipps Conservatory this summer to their already gorgeous collection of art. Gamarth’s style seems to focus more on the size of the piece than it’s whimsy. Chihuly is known or his chandeliers composed of hundreds of blown and textures shapes and spirals. I believe one of his pieces resides above the brown chairs in the University Center, it you want an example. Gamarth seems to be more grounded in reality. Both artists pull their inspiration from plants and nature, yet with Gamarth, it is much more obvious. The images presented with the article depict very large plants, rather than the abstract representation of plants that Chihuly is known for. I am excited to see something new at Phipps and to compare he work of one great glass artist to another in real life. Also – the farmer’s market at Phipps is opening soon.

Claire Farrokh said...

Ahhh I love Phipps!! It's so great to have such a beautiful place so close to us that we can access so easily. I love whenever Phipps is doing any kind of special installation, because we theoretically can go to all of them. I went to the winter lights display with my boyfriend this year right before Christmas break, and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I will definitely be forcing him to go see this with me as well. The article was not super clear about how often and how late they have the nighttime showings with the special lighting, but I guess I can just find that on the Phipps website. I would definitely love to go see this, and it's especially great because we can go for free, so we could go for like half an hour if we wanted. I've got nine days of nothing until my crit, so I'm definitely interested in filling those days with actual fun activities. Yay Phipps!

Sasha Schwartz said...

Yay I’m so glad to see that there will be a new glass art exhibit at Phipps! I love Phipps and I have always loved the glass artwork that is intertwined throughout the space. I think there is something so serendipitous about glass artwork working in tandem with the foliage of the space; the light reflecting through the colored glass, shining onto and through the leaves and flowers- it just feels like it was made to be there, as if it is one with nature and not just an art piece tacked onto a green house. It works especially well when the glass art mimics the shapes of the plants themselves, such as in the floral lilly piece that the article shows. It is definitely true that Phipps feels otherworldly in a way that separates it from the hustle-bustle of the city of Pittsburgh, particularly for those of us in a dark theater/studio most of the day/ night. My parents will be visiting Pittsburgh next weekend and I’m so excited to take them to Phipps to see these new additions to the space.

Truly Cates said...


These are beautiful! When the freshman DP class was working on the Phipps basic design project, we took a trip to the Phipps Conservatory to look at all the plants. The glass sculptures are so pretty, and they fit right in amongst all the plants. They’re vibrant, but since all the plants are as well, they almost make you question if they are real or not, despite their shininess and transparency, not to mention their size. They’re huge but they still fit right in!! How did the artist do this? I think a big part of it is that the plants in the conservatory are so unexpectedly bright or big or unnatural looking that the glass compliments them perfectly. Wonderful artwork that accents the plants, just as a band compliments a frontman or lighting compliments costumes and the set on a stage.