Until 2001, Dutch Peter Bremers had solely been working with blown glass. After his return from Antarctica he decided to concentrate on kilnformed glass, which he felt could be used best to express his impressions and experiences from his meeting with the greatness of nature. At Antarctica he observed the kaleidoscopic effects from the daylight on and around the ice for the first time. Glass is the material naturally closest to ice and the intensifying and reflecting qualities inherent in glass, is also very similar to the qualities of ice.
Since his initial journey to Antarctica, Peter Bremers has visited Greenland and Spitsbergen by ship. On his journeys he takes photographs and writes down his thoughts and observations in his indispensable notebook. Back home the intense experiences of nature are transformed into sculptural pieces. From a mould, made from a model, shaped as the finished sculpture, the works are made in Czech Republic by Czech experts, and supervised by the artist himself. Finally the works are cut with a diamond saw and polished
The solidity and the deep blue colour, the pointy shapes and sharp peaks, the cracks in the surfaces and the characteristic melted, rounded holes typical for icebergs can be recognized everywhere in the works of Peter Bremers. Still the sculptures should not be considered a mere imitation of nature, but more an expression of a the artist’s sense of wonder as a human being.
Peter Bremers’ view of nature is centered around a sense of gratitude for this inexhaustible source of inspiration. From his journeys, he brings back a strong feeling of insignificance confronted with the savage powers of the ocean and life-changing experiences like the overwhelming emotion he felt, when a mother whale with her calf swam alongside their boat and looked him long and hard in the eye.
Biography:
Peter Bremers was born in 1957 in Maastricht, The Netherlands. He was educated at the University of Fine Arts, Sculpture Department, Maastricht 1976-1980 and Jan van Eyck Akademie, Post Academic Institute for Art & Design, Maastricht, 1986-1988. He is represented in a number of collections at museums in The Netherlands, in Europe and USA.
The exhibition at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft shows sculpture, photography and video.
The exhibition is on display at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft until 19th April 2009.
