Large Glass Sculpture
Internal Space is a series of large cast glass sculpture that encompasses all of David’s experiments with sheet glass and fusing which led him to try to make the glass thicker in order to see more interior space. It was during this time a professor pointed out that he was working with a metaphor, for which the internal space of the glass was the equivalent to the internal life of the mind. This became his operating mantra but also forced him to come to terms with the casting of thick sections. Each piece from this series is unique and explores a different facet of the world around us and how it pertains to the internal space within.
Samaplan
2008
Glass, Stainless Steel
96" x 26" x 14"
Lekhoo Beshalom
1991
Cast Glass
40" x 72" x 6.5"
Ha'apai
2013
Glass, Stainless Steel
29" x 37" x 10"
Ha'apai Detail
Liro
2015
Glass, Stainless Steel
36 1/2 x 15 x 3 1/2"
Kalisada
2008
Glass, Stainless Steel
116 x 26 x 14"
Mangaia
2013
Glass, stainless steel
22 x 32 x 12"
Tikei
2013
Glass, stainless steel
27 x 32 x 12"
Holonga
2005
Glass, stainless steel
50 x 12 x 16"
Holonga Detail
Maina Detail
Maina
2013
Glass, Stainless Steel
24 x 21 x 12"
Gaji
2006
Glass, Stainless Steel
36 x 16 x 8"
Rapota
2017
Glass, Stainless Steel
44 x 19 x 10"
Varari
2004
Glass, steel
67 1/2 x 16 x 12"
Yaroi
2008
Glass and stainless steel
32" x 17¼ x 11"
Haumi
2004
Glass, steel
19 x 26 x 3"
Ahe
2004
Glass, steel
27 x 32 x 3 1/2"
My experiments with sheet glass and fusing led me to try to make the glass thicker to see more interior space. One professor pointed out that I was working with a metaphor, for which the internal space of the glass was the equivalent to the internal life of the mind. This became my operating mantra, but forced me to come to terms with the casting of thick sections.
Warning! Glass can be a cruel mistress! Mistreated, or mishandled and it breaks; it is very expensive to follow your dreams with this material. It can demand the highest perfection.
Creating those internal spaces came with some problems. Other than telescope mirrors, I did not know that anyone annealed glass in a kiln for more than a day or two. When pieces cracked after five days of cooling, I could not believe they would need even more time. The tragedy quotient was huge for this type of technical exploration, and that is well before any exploration of internal space as poetry. While some sculptures I have made have been in the kiln for as long as two months, most of my recent pieces cook for two to three weeks, for slow, steady annealing and cooling.
Excerpt from David’s Alchemy of Glass