stephen skillitzi
Bio
GLASS: blown, cast, architectural,
mixed media
08-82984156
15 Rudford St.
Brighton. S.A. 5048
E: stephen.skillitzi@gmail.com
Stephen Skillitzi is principal of Glass Earth & Fire Studio in Brighton SA, where he practices glass, metal and clay art. He graduated from the National Art School, Sydney in 1966 and gained a Master’s degree in Fine Art, University of Massachusetts, USA in 1970. He returned to Australia in 1971 to become one of the pioneers of hot studio-glass, being dubbed “the Father of Australian Studio Glass”.
He has explored in a variety of scales from domestic to monumental. His work is marked by a high degree of technical and formal ambition. Much of his work consists of lost-wax, kiln-cast glass, which is intricately modeled, often etched and further enriched by metallic electroplate elements. “The results range from the hallucinogenic to the indigestible … and overly theatrical”; from the mundane to the metaphysical.
Recent blown glass explores a unique complex colour and design style. Stephen, recognized for his defiance of conventional practice, is one of Australia’s most influential glass artists. “He has carved a reputation for professional leadership and creative innovation, and divides opinion with his individualistic style of expression, his robust delight in excess and in pitting opposing qualities against each other.