A touch of glass

Oct 27 2009 by jez Davison, Evening Gazette

AN exhibition showcasing work by one of the world’s most acclaimed living artists has created an unusual job for a Teesside glass installation specialist.

David Foreman of Nunthorpe-based glass installation specialist Forefit Structural Glass Solutions, assembled Gerhard Richter’s 11 Panes of Glass at the Institute Of Modern Art mima.

The piece is part of the Modern Times show which runs until November 15 and features more than 50 works by the 77-year-old German master.

Richter began to use glass in his work in 1967, when he made the piece 4 Panes of Glass.

During the next three-and-a-half decades he developed the concept and in 2004 produced the current masterpiece, which explores the ability of glass to both reflect and distort.

The panes reflects the subject several times over as he moves closer and away from the work, producing a blurred effect.

The exhibition features a whole range of pieces including monochrome and abstract works; sculptures; abstract paintings and a series of 30 rarely seen drawings.

A film is currently being shown in mima’s atrium featuring the work involved with the gallery’s exhibition change-over. It includes footage of Forefit Structural Glass Solutions’ installation of 11 Panes of Glass.