NANCY OTTO    Statement    +    CV

Resides:  California

The sculpture I create examines infinitely smaller realities within a larger context, and the relationship between the two.

I like to see what is happening inside of a sculpture. This curiosity mirrors my interests in life. I am intrigued by what is happening inside a person, a family, an institution, or a system. The insides of my pieces are often manipulated to create deep impressions or subtle contrasts. My intention is to depict a voyeuristic window into an inner world of frozen reality.

From this microscopic internal view, I then zoom out to place the work in the context of relationships. How do the pieces relate to and interact with each other and to their environment? In what ways do they bend toward and move away from each other? Together, they form a vibrant community that is energized by those relationships.

For me, glass is an incredibly seductive and versatile medium to express ideas with.  I am particularly drawn to pushing the structural boundaries of glass – stretching it almost the point of cracking it, squashing it until it almost collapses.

I choose glass as a medium for sculpture because of the physical challenge of mastering its properties. The intensity of the heat, the weight of the work twirling at the end of a heavy pipe, and the dance to and from the bench is a performance in and of itself.

 

 

Education
2008	Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deere Isle, ME
2005	The Studio at Corning, Corning, NY
2004	Pilchuck, Stanwood, WA
2003	The Studio at Corning, Corning, NY
2000	Public Glass, San Francisco, CA
1995	Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
	San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
1987	Duke University, Durham, NC, Bachelor of Arts
Solo Exhibition
1987	Faces of China, Brown Gallery, Duke University, Durham, NC
Group Exhibitions
2009	COLD + HOT 2009, Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008	All Manner of Glass, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
	The Unbreakables, Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos, CA
2007	Pilchuck Glass Auction, Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA
	National Juried Fine Craft Exhibition, ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA
	Visionary Ensemble of Painting, Textile & Glass: Lifework of Three Japanese Artists, Silk Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
2006	Spring Works, E3 Gallery, New York, NY
	Contents Include: Glass, “Featured Artist,” Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
	Ebb and Flow, Sausalito Arts Commission, Sausalito, CA
	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
2005	Beyond Function:  Techniques in Contemporary Glass Arts, San Francisco International Airport Museum, San Francisco, CA
	Secret Place, Sacred Space, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
	2005 Women’s Festival of the Arts, 2nd City Council Art Gallery, Long Beach, CA
	7th Annual All-Media Exhibition, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC
	Art Concepts’ 20th Anniversary Show:  A Tribute to the Artist, Art Concepts, Walnut Creek, CA
	Keep Us Hot, Public Glass, San Francisco, CA
	Smoke, Lillies, and Jade, Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Oakland, CA
	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
	Romance and Figures, ART21 Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2004	April Showers, Judson Church Gallery, New York, NY
	The Art of Fine Craft, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
	20 Glass Artists, 1 Gallery, Montclair Gallery, Oakland, CA
	Black and Red, ART21 Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
	We Like It Dirty, Heritage Square Building, Emeryville, CA
2003	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
	Glass Works, Public Glass, San Francisco, CA
2002	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
	DepARTures, Travel Adventures, San Francisco, CA
2001	Gallery Opening, Formationz, San Francisco, CA
	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
2000	Rhythms, Quarry Cove Art Gallery, Pacifica, CA
	San Francisco Open Studios, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Awards
2007	Juror’s Award, National Juried Fine Art Craft Exhibition, ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA
Publications
2007	BEST OF AMERICA GLASS ARTISTS AND ARTISANS, Edited by Adam P. Kennedy and Renee Kennedy, New York, NY
	LAMORINDA SUN and WALNUT CREEK JOURNAL, November 8, “Artists Weave, Blow and Brush,” by Janice De Jesus, Walnut Creek, CA
2005	CURVE MAGAZINE, October 18, “Art for Art’s Sake,” by Jocelyn Voo, San Francisco, CA
	HER MARK Calendar featuring national artists, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
	CURVE MAGAZINE, February 1, “Think Outside the Chocolate Box,” by Jocelyn Voo and Diane Anderson-Minshall, San Francisco, CA
2004	SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES, April 1, “Activism Is Alive at the Women’s Foundation,” by Dennis McMillan, San Francisco, CA
2003	SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE MAGAZINE, November 16, “Gift Buying Guide,” San Francisco, CA
2002	NOE VALLEY VOICE, January, “Four Artists Stay Fired up about Glass,”  by Betsy Bannerman, San Francisco, CA
2001	PACIFICA TRIBUNE, February 14, “Art Beat,” by Debbie Grech, Pacifica, CA