Joshua Kerley

Glass sculptor | Salisbury, United Kingdom

Challenging the material perceptions of glass

Joshua makes glass creations that do not look like glass
He creates curious and colourful objects
He experiments with materials and processes to achieve unique effects

Joshua Kerley is not preoccupied with the traditional properties of transparency and translucency of glass. Instead he works with opaque glass, or techniques that create opacity in glass. His practice is informed by a rich heritage of material imitation in glass making. He is inspired, for example, by the Venetians who mimicked the material qualities of semi-precious stones. Joshua makes objects that are inherently un-glass-like, and mimic the physical properties of other materials. He aims to reassess traditional perceptions of glass. His practice moves deftly between art, design and craft, creating objects that transcend boundaries and challenge our comprehension of the material world.

Interview

©Outset

©Ho Lai

What do you love most about your profession?: It is a bit of a cliché, but I like that everyday is different. I teach at university, I teach workshops, I make work, I have admin days, I visit exhibitions and present at conferences. There are times when it feels like I am spinning plates. But it is always interesting.
How do you achieve the vibrant colours in your work?: Using glass as a means of chromatic expression is not easy. Glass artists do not have the widest choice of colours. Much of my practice revolves around mixing and combining commercially available glass colours to obtain a palette of hues and tones unique to me.
So do you mix glass colours as though they were paint?: Glass colours are fickle things, made by heating a variety of raw ingredients to melting point. The colour is the result of a chemical reaction. So some colours react with one another leaving greys and browns. It is not as simple as mixing paint on a palette.
What is your favourite moment in working with glass?: Nothing beats the feeling of getting a new piece of glass out of the kiln, and it is everything you had imagined it would be, and more. The satisfaction of something you envisioned, designed, problem-solved, and crafted taking material form is immense.

Joshua Kerley is a master artisan: he began his career in 2011 and he started teaching in 2014