The Eastern Cape’s only collective of glass artists has been quietly working to shatter preconceptions about glass as a contemporary fine art medium.
The five women – Amanda de Wet, Anva Chiazzari, Lorinda Pretorius, Nompumezo Gubevu and Zinziswa Mavuso – are all alumni and staff of NMMU in Port Elizabeth.
Their aim is to showcase the quality of locally produced work and to grow and support a larger glass community.
“Glass is a fairly unknown medium and is generally associated with functional and craft ware as opposed to a fine art application,” said group spokesperson Pretorius, who is a former merit award winner in the Sasol New Signatures competition.
Aside from their struggle to gain recognition, the artists face a few more pragmatic challenges too.
“Load shedding affects us, as glass requires a long firing process,” said Pretorius.
“The cost of importing glass is also extremely high, therefore we are always looking for innovative ways to work with affordable commercial alternatives.”
While they are working towards establishing an annual travelling exhibition in partnership with the university’s stained class studio, their first stop is a group showing at Underculture Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery.
The exhibition, Fluxus, will deal with ideas of integration and change, said Pretorius.
“The disquieting sense of impermanence that influences our contemporary experience is the trigger for the act of making.”
Glass, she said, provided a lens through which to view our inconstant and ever-changing world.
“The material itself is mutable and inconstant.
“On the one hand, it has a rigidity which expels and, on the other, a fluidity that allows penetration. Perhaps in the same way that glass allows the viewer to enter the work.”
The exhibition opens at 6:30pm on September 9 and runs until October 9 at Underculture Contemporary in Park Drive, Port Elizabeth.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- LaserTube Brings Fibre Laser Tube Cutting Machines to South African Fabricators, From Compact Shop Units to Bundle Loading Production Cells - 3 November 2026
- SubAlu Sublimates Photographs Onto Aluminium Panels in Randburg, From A4 Gifts and Square Prints to A1 Statement Pieces and Panoramas - 3 November 2026
- Dear Donald: South Africa has Stronger Electoral Laws than the USA - 3 November 2026
- TrueTech Readies South African Homes and Offices for a Year-End Tech Upgrade - 2 November 2026
- Now I Understand Why Investing Is Not for the Faint of Heart - 2 November 2026
