A Whole Year Focusing on Glass

Glass touches our lives in so many ways and 2022 is going to be a year celebrating its unparalleled versatility and technical capabilities. From glass fiber optics and the global communications revolution to the chemically resistant container so important in medicine, to the glass sheets used in solar energy, to the every day bottles and jars and of course windows – we never go through a day without some contact with glass. This celebration of glass will kick off in Geneva in February with a 3 day conference and then there will be events throughout UN countries – scientific, technological, historical and and many glass art exhibitions.

Glass Art

Glass art seems to be a relatively small part of the art world at the moment. When people talk about their art they are much more likely to be thinking about paintings or sculpture. However, decorative glass art plays a large part in art history – from stained glass in churches to famous glass artists such as Rene Lalique and Dale Chihuly. There are places famous for their glass – for example Murano, the Island off Venice and Stourbridge in the UK Midlands, During 2022 the UK Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) will host several exhibitions including at The National Glass Centre in Sunderland, Cardiff. and Farnham. There will also be an exhibit at The Chelsea Flower Show, in the Container Garden, called ‘In Celebration of Glass’.

So this is the year to explore the possibilities of glass art – there should be plenty of inspirational ideas out there – and remember it doesn’t have to be very delicate and fragile. Toughened glass is also used creatively to great effect – and if untoughened stained glass windows can survive for hundreds of years, imagine how long toughened glass will be around!