John Gilbert Luebtow
John Luebtow has consistently addressed a quadrum of fundamental sculptural issues throughout his career: line, form, space, and light. These are broad considerations, to be sure; to a certain extent, they are inherent to all visual art media. What is significant in Luebtow’s fidelity to this set of issues is not only his tenacity in the unraveling of their mysterious laws, but also the extraordinarily wide range of approaches he has drawn to them. The mystery he pursues is the technical spiritual identify of his medium. He searches within the sovereign form of his subjects for the abstract evidence of the energetic rhythm of movement. At times this search may appear divergent and often bifurcated: one venue yielding images of bondage constraint and containment evoking a mixture of pleasure and pain; another emanating variations of surface patterns that are highly stylized, manipulating and controlling visual movement in and on the form, while defining the form within the glass. Yet another evolving through a progression of smaller Marquette sized pieces containing wave-like patterns of intricately bent glass presented in single and double free-standing metal encasements, come of which are hinged to allow the viewer to alter their relationships.
Yet common in all are biomorphic shapes co-existing with hard geometries, different levels of translucence and controlled variations in the glass purity and surface rippling that consort to infuse the sculpture and wall constructions with visually complex layers and optical effects, fluidity, and a monumental scale regardless of size.
The primary materials Luebtow uses are essentially industrial: glass integrated with metals from polished stainless steel and brass, to plama cut I-beams, to rusted steel pipes with unruly frayed knotted steel cable. The pieces represent an aggregation of exploration, but are all grounded in the generatrix of line searching to uncover and define form. His work challenges traditional concepts of space.
Luebtow has developed innovative technical processes in glass-making, introducing and incorporating gesture and expressive qualities into impeccably finished sculptural components. He bends one-inch sheet glass–a signature technical ability which has garnered him the unparalleled esteem of his colleagues and international recognition.
Over the past 40 plus years, John Luebtow has become one of the most respected names in contemporary glass sculpture. He holds a BA from California Lutheran College, and two distinct MFAs from UCLA (one in ceramics and one in glass).
Luebtow has devoted much of his career to teaching in Los Angeles. His work has been commissioned by major public and private corporations including Hewlett-Packard (HP), ARCO (Atlantic Richfield), American Airlines, NESTLÉ (Carnation), and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla.
-Shana Nys Dambrot
Written for Patricia Correa Gallery
