Dylan Martinez

Dylan Martinez's H2O/SiO2 was first inspired to become a fish inside a plastic bag of water like you would get at a pet store or receive as a prize in a carnival game. However, the fish has since been removed, allowing the viewer an opportunity to imagine their own creature inside or ponder its absence.

 

Created entirely out of molten glass that begins at 2200 degrees F. A small gather of glass is spun up onto the end of an iron rod. Small indentations are formed onto the glass as it cools. Consecutive gathers of glass cover up the indentations in the glass forming the air bubbles and account for the “water” section of the sculpture. Once the appropriate amount of glass has been gathered, the glass is shaped to form the corners and bottom. A high-temperature torch, 3000 degrees F, is used to spot heat the glass so that the wrinkles can be sculpted onto the surface. Next, another gather of glass is taken and this time it gets inflated into a bubble, as thin as a wine glass, and gets added to the top layer of “water,” in a process known as an encalmo. Small flakes of clear glass are added to the inside of the bubble and melt to form the water droplets. Finally, the second bubble of glass is gathered, blown and sculpted into the knot and tassel. It is broken off its blowpipe, torched and added to the top of the bag. Once the sculpture receives its finishing touches, it is placed into an annealing oven at 900 degrees F. and slowly cools over 5 days until it reaches room temperature. The bottom is then ground flat and polished.

 

This whole process requires astute focus and craftsmanship by the Gaffer and his assistant. During its construction there are no breaks or pauses, as the glass needs to be continually rotated, to keep it from falling onto the ground, and reheated every 30-60 seconds, to keep it from getting so cold it would crack from thermal stress.

 

FOR GENERAL AVAILABILITY AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON Dylan Martinez, PLEASE CONTACT THE GALLERY AT +1 (212) 226-8680 OR INFO@GUYHEPNER.COM.