FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
A TRIUMPH ON THE NATIONAL STAGE FOR MARKOW & NORRIS
Artists Break Sales Record With The Final In Series of Life-Size Woven Glass Sculptures “Summer Zenith Kimono”
Chicago, Il. January 2014 – Distinguished artist duo, Eric Markow and Thom Norris, advanced their success and reputation with the presentation and sale of the “Summer Zenith Kimono,” their fourth and final in the series. Summer Zenith Kimono was presented by Pismo Gallery at SOFA Chicago, noted as the world’s most prominent fair for Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art, and Design.
Markow & Norris, originators of the transcending technique of glass weaving, attribute their creative ingenuity to their own keen desires to explore and learn. “What helped, we always joke, is that we didn’t know we couldn’t do it,” asserts Norris. While their humor embodies ideas of initiation, chance, and practice — as most success stories embrace– it would be remiss to overlook the fact that both men exhibited their own brilliant nature in their early academic pursuits, as well as their worldly interests and natural insight. With respective backgrounds in chemical engineering and biology, Eric Markow and Thom Norris are famous for uniting science and art in a delicately choreographed process of manipulating blazing glass into seemingly impossible sculptures that break boundaries and challenge the laws of physics.
The Markow & Norris technique of woven glass may be described as complicated, with exhaustive steps that require precision in timing and temperature. These efforts are reflected in the captivating beauty of each of the four life-size seasonal landscape kimonos, representing each season during different periods of the day. The Kimono Series is a culmination of five years of work on “Autumn Sunset Kimono,” “Winter Twilight Kimono,” “Spring Dawn Kimono,” and the final piece, “Summer Zenith Kimono.” Each of the four kimonos are made up of 19 separate pieces, and 125 pounds, of handwoven glass. The freestanding kimonos are 5 ½ feet tall with outreached arm spans of over 4 feet — currently, the largest woven glass sculptures in the world. Each kimono took approximately six months to complete, with the first taking 18 months. The entire process involves careful planning, sophisticated shapes and hundreds of hours of precise heating and cooling to ultimately come together as a seamless glass creation.
“Autumn Sunset Kimono,” the first in the series, illustrates, the rich comforting colors of autumn with the warm transitions of a sunset. “Winter Twilight Kimono” projects the crispness of the winter with the sharp contrast of light reflected in the twilight. “Spring Dawn Kimono” seems a rebirth of the color spectrum: emanating hues of color in a narrative of new beginnings. The final piece in this series, “Summer Zenith Kimono,” shines as brilliantly as the sun with its vibrant colors and animated vivacity. The illustrious summer scene depicts Mt. Fuji with it’s snowcapped peak covered with actual silver and gold leaf, fired directly onto the glass.
Markow & Norris have made it easy to get lost in their colorful designs, so vibrant and mesmerizing in subject. The endless details and flawless assembly are not only alluring in beauty, but thought provoking as well. The artists have kept true to the origins of the kimono with layers of texture in their interwoven glass fabric and seasonal landscapes overflowing in meticulous color combinations, while seducing their viewers with the historical allusions of aristocracy and the painstaking femininity of the Geisha — much like the efforts of their own majestic creations.
The success of the Kimono Series inspired Markow & Norris to continue this line of innovation. They are considering a new series of life-size Samurai representing the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. “We envision the masculine Samurai as the perfect companion for the feminine Kimono,” said Markow. Like the seasons and the elements, their Samurai series may prove a balance in the order of all great things.
This powerful pair began their artistic careers with a playful curiosity that they have refined as an envied skill framed in style, imagination, and exquisiteness. It is likely their creations, especially the Kimono Series, and perhaps the anticipated Samurai series, will hold their value for generations.
Since their debut in 2003, the enigmatic duo of Markow & Norris have taken the art world by storm with their revolutionary woven glass sculptures that continue to bewilder gallerists and art critics alike. Markow & Norris, the premiere woven glass artists in the world, have been featured in over 50 publications, including international news coverage, were interviewed for a segment on CBS Sunday Morning, and have exhibited their work in major markets including New York, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. Every Markow & Norris piece is rare, handmade in the artists’ studio to be a one of a kind heirloom. For more information on Markow & Norris, their unique woven glass art or to request collector’s information please visit www.wovenglass.com or call 1-888-282-7081.
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Press Contact: Marcy Clark
Yellow Sky Agency
mobile: 212.729.9619
marcy@nullyellowskyagency.com
