Bi-Planular Solar Gray Riser

For much of his career Tom Patti has worked in solitude, painstakingly investigating ways to laminate and fuse sheet glass to create sculptures of perfection and purity. He uses industrial materials that he manipulates by hand like precious objects. The titles of his pieces allude to Patti's passion for science and technology. Here, Solar Gray refers to the type of glass used, made by PPG Industries in Pittsburgh for architectural glazing. To make this piece, sheets of discarded commercial glass were layered and fused with heat. Then a small bubble was expanded into the central core. The pregnant swell of the womb-like sack hints at glass's amorphous state and underscores Patti's ongoing fascination with the organic and geometric.