Profile... Alex Valero
Alex Valero, COMM, 2017, hot sculpted and coldworked glass. Photo: Grant Hancock
Known for his innovative and experimental approach to working with hot glass,
Alex Valero's is the inaugural recipient
of the FUSE Glass Artist Residency. We
get to know the artist whose work draws
from philosophy, science and science fiction, ahead of his exhibition at Carrick Hill Gallery.
Can you describe to us your first-time glass blowing? What is it that keeps you interested in this medium as a form of expression?
This medium has an interesting tension between the past and the future. Glassblowers are often quite aware of the history of their material, and traditional forms and techniques capture our attention. We sometimes profess to be part of this long craft tradition, but that is only true in a very loose sense! I find it a fascinating problem - how to characterise the medium as I practice it today, and to what extent would that resonate with glassblowers from the past?
“If there's a theme that connects my making at the moment, it's hybrid techniques. I'm experimenting by taking well-established techniques and trying to find new applications for them.”
You won the FUSE Glass Prize Emerging Artist Category in 2016, how has your practice changed from then to now?
The recognition and support from FUSE Glass Prize is immensely motivating, especially for someone early in their career. I am determined to make work that is a bit unorthodox, and I have become even more ambitious in this regard.
Alex Valero in the JamFactory Glass Studio. Photo: JamFactory.
Alex working on Nodule. Photo: JamFactory.
The FUSE Glass Artist Residency is an opportunity for artists to experiment and take risks. Is there anything in particular you’re looking to try/learn during this time?
If there's a theme that connects my making at the moment, it's hybrid techniques. I'm experimenting by taking well-established techniques and trying to find new applications for them.
It was incredible to watch you work in the first part of your residency with JamFactory, do you have any rituals for getting into the creative zone? How do you feel when you’re creating?
Most of my creative thoughts happen outside the workshop. I imagine a new process and work through it in my head, or talk it through with the other glassblowers. Once I start blowing glass, my attention is mostly on problem solving.
As part of the Fuse Glass Artist Residency you will be exhibiting a body of work at Carrick Hill Gallery in November. Can you explain a few of the concept’s behind your work for this exhibition?
This exhibition is motivated by concern for the long-term future of humanity. I want to contrast the immense loss of an existential catastrophe against the incredible flourishing a wiser, more secure humanity could someday achieve. I think it is important for us to build an intuitive understanding of the stakes, and train ourselves to think from the perspective of our species as a whole.
Exhibitions
Alex is currently exhibiting alongside six emerging and established glass artists in Vitreous. On show until 6 June in Collect.
Works from the FUSE Glass Artist Residency will be on show at Carrick Hill Gallery from November 2021.
Alex Valero, Nodule, 2021, blown glass. Exhibiting in JamFactory Collect. Image: JamFactory.
Alex Valero
Graduating from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Visual Arts specialising in glass, Alex went on to further his skills with JamFactory’s Associate Training Program, graduating in 2014.
Alex was awarded the FUSE Glass Artist Residency in 2020. Held biennially, the residency aims to create significant opportunities for mid-career artists working in glass across Australia and New Zealand. Artists will have the opportunity to work from JamFactory’s Glass Studio with skilled assistants, to take risks and experiment with the development of new work.