Blue
2020
Joseph Kaftan
Seattle, WA, USA
24 x 17 x 3 inches
sheet/stain glass mosaic, with oil paint
From an early age, I’ve been attracted to colored light. I found beauty in the kaleidoscopic patterns of fireworks and the prismatic rays created by sunlight passing through a family glass collection on a window ledge.
Working with sheet glass, manipulating its transparency and reflectiveness, has provided me with the ability to express myself through light and color. I enjoy the physicality of working with glass. The tactile practice of cutting and shaping each piece feels like I am painting with light. Each small piece builds upon the other to provide motion and dynamism, much like a brushstroke.
I think of my portraits as an opportunity to capture the essence of an individual. My use of emotive color palettes and the reflective glass draw the viewer into a moment of reflection on the subject. Glass enhances that contemplative experience, the play of color and light adds vitality and immediacy.