Boyd Sugiki
Bottle Composition, 2005
blown glass
Left to right: 41 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 1/2;
26 x 12 x 12; 38 1/2 x 10 x 10 inches

Boyd Sugiki
Cutout, 2005
paper, steel
24 x 18 1/2 x 5 inches

Boyd Sugiki: Elements
The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center
January 18 - May 27, 2008
 
Glass artist Boyd Sugiki's recent series, Elements, was inspired by the cityscape that surrounded him during recent travels to Istanbul, Turkey. The glass bottles created upon his return home echo the architectural skylines and silhouettes of the mosques and minarets he observed. Grouped together the glass forms that reach over four feet tall suggest a compelling urban landscape.

To achieve the scale of work desired, Sugiki spent two years including lots of trial and error to perfect the modular method used to create each work in the series. Sugiki first designed each bottle on paper to the desired scale, then divided the forms into three separate elements. The paper shapes were then cut out, brought into the hot-shop, and used as templates for the glass pieces. Sugiki blew the bottom form first, letting it cool completely before blowing the second and finally the third. The three glass forms stack precisely together, demonstrating Sugiki's highly developed skill as a glass blower as well as his keen sense of balance and proportion.