Canberra-based artist Mel Douglas explores the potential and flexibility of glass as a material for drawing. In her words, “objects and drawings are often thought of as two separate entities. My works explore and interweave the creative possibilities of this liminal space, where the form is not just a support for drawing; but a three-dimensional drawing itself. Using the unique qualities of the material and the rich potential of mark-making on and with glass, I am using line to inform, define and enable three-dimensional space”.
The exhibition includes the installation Tonal value (1-9) 2019, which contemplates how objects can occupy and trace lines in space and the tonal transformations made possible through the viscosity of glass. Moving from opaline to soft greys and through to black, Tonal value (1-9) also represents a considered process of engraved mark-making. The exhibition also includes related glass drawings on paper from the ongoing series ‘Transcribing’ that reveal how line and form can define and defy our understanding of space and volume.
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Presented with the support of Canberra Glassworks where Mel Douglas is a continuing studio artist.
Banner: Mel Douglas, ‘Tonal value (1-9)’ 2019. Blown, cold worked and engraved glass. Image courtesy: the artist and Traver Gallery, Seattle
