Vessel Gallery presents a solo exhibition by the British and French artist, Nina Casson McGarva.

Starting with conventional techniques, yet unachievable without the experimental, each of Casson McGarva’s sublime sculptures commence with a solid prone ridged slab of cast glass, only distinguishable from another, by its colour. From here, via reheating with a fleeting moment to achieve her aim, Casson McGarva pushes, pulls and coaxes her glass to create her dynamic standing curling forms. Despite similar beginnings, once subjected to such maverick making, the end results are all Individual Twists.

In her own words about this collection of works:

“The first inspiration for these were ridges and veins found in petals and long leaves, like ribwort plantain, which is common in Europe. A plant for me, that is evocative of lawns and gardens.

Flowers and leaves are a big inspiration, especially when held up to the sun, as they have a translucency that lets the light in, just like glass. For me they hold something that is exciting even though they may seem simple in their texture and patterns. There is much to be found in the contrast of the thicker and thinner parts of their structures.

The twisting idea came from one of the first ones I made called Courgette Flower. During the lockdown period, I had a vegetable garden, and I loved seeing the courgette flowers. They would twist-up tight, closed in the evening and open-up in the morning. From there I tried different colours with the results becoming more abstract, developing into the Individual Twist series.”

Casson McGarva trained at the Ecole Nationale du Verre Jean Monnet and at the Glass and Ceramics Workshop on Bornholm (part of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts). Since graduating in 2014, she has been on three notable Artist residency programs: Shin-nagata glass residence Kobe, Japan (2019) | Eair Program at Pilchuck Glass school in Stanwood, WA, USA (2015) | Starworks in Star, NC, USA (2014).

Casson McGarva has shown her work throughout Europe, Japan and in the USA. Most recently, she was selected as one of 60 artworks for the Toyama International 2024 Glass Exhibition. She has work in the collections of the: Achilles-Stiftung Glass Museum in Hamburg, Germany | Ernsting Foundation, Lette Glass Museum (Glasmuseum Lette) Coesfeld, Germany | Imagine Museum, St Petersburg, FL, USA | Glass Light Hotel and Gallery, Norfolk, VA, USA | Permanent Collections at the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.The Making of Individual Twists and Q&A with the artist