Unique Sculpture ‘Shōnan (湘南)’ by James Alexander
A unique sculpture that masterfully combines several glassmaking processes in one form.
Inspired by the alluring Japanese coastline and the majestic Mount Fuji. James produces amazing sculptures with exquisite features and fascinating bubbles using complex manipulations with free-blowing and hot sculpting. The Shonan shore is captured in each sculpture, which entreats viewers to come on a visual trip. A trip that combines fluidity and the exuding charm of nature.
James has used a wide variety of methods for this piece, including cup casing, cane work, and the delicate use of bicarbonate of soda to generate a splash of bubbles in the glass.
He combines all these methods on the blowing iron before freehand sculpting the final form.
Unique Sculpture’s Artist
James Alexander glass artist was born in Plymouth and raised in Cornwall. He began his professional artistic journey while studying Applied Arts in 2012 at Bournemouth University with a primary focus on hot glass blowing. This was the beginning of great things for James. His brilliance as a glass artist was noted by industry-leading lights such as Peter Layton Glass and Simon Moore at London’s New Designers Exhibition.
He worked as a glass-making freelancer for Peter, Simon and other studios to help him hone his skills and fine-tune his artistic abilities with glass-making.
After working at the Simone More studio, London Glassblowing, the Michael Rue studio, Bristol Blue Glass, and the Jonathan Rogers studio in the Netherlands, James headed to the other side of the world to start a new life in Australia.
James takes inspiration from the rugged coastline of Cornwall where he grew up and the region’s soil erosion. In his studio on the Gold Coast, James explores the limitless possibilities that glass sculpture enables.
He explores themes of existence through adaptation and flexibility and the union between land and sea. James combines the translucent nature of glass with other more solid sculptural forms that highlight the tension and marriage between them.
By combining strong deep colours and translucent glass, James provides a clear lens to see deeper into the work, uncovering fine lines that represent the rock fissures in the shifting geology of the coastline.
His sculptural glasswork is both representation and narrative. A sculptural story told through art that will engage and enthral its audience for many years to come.
