Henry Richardson

While the sound of breaking glass calls to mind the image of destruction, Richardson uses broken glass as an element of creation. Wielding traditional sculpture tools in combination with recent technological innovations in bonding glass (and a great deal of labor), Richardson creates works that are immediately accessible and cutting-edge. With careful attention to surface and color, chipping glass like other sculptors chip stone, he explores geometric shapes such as spheres, columns, rings and other forms. In spite of the large scale of some of his works, Richardson's sculptures feel light, their heaviness visually reduced by the translucency of the glass. Because the chiseled glass both refracts and reflects light, the sculpture's radiance and mood are constantly changing in response to the surrounding light. The subtle animation of light invites contemplation, like a fire, or clouds, or bodies of water. Each work, at times, has a crystalline or ice-like quality, imparting a sense of both timelessness and impermanence. He sees this contradiction as a basis for meaning in his work. Another constant theme of Richardson's work is regeneration, the healing of the individual after trauma or emotional distress. "My work has metaphorical value, it reminds us we're all broken as human beings through life, constantly rebuilding ourselves, making ourselves whole again."

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