Zerbe Wins Best of Show at Art Fluent's Beyond the Scars Exhibition

I am pleased to announce my glass sculpture “Dissolution” has been selected Best of Show at Art Fluent’s Beyond the Scars exhibition. 380 artists from across the globe submitted their works for consideration and inclusion, with only 69 works chosen for the exhibition. Of the works included, the juror selected my piece for Best of Show. What an incredible honor! The exhibition description reads:

Let’s celebrate the imperfections in art, where every flaw tells a story, and every mistake launches us into the unpredictable beauty of the creative journey. BEYOND THE SCARS invites us to stop and reflect on the raw and the real, pushing us to rethink what perfection means. These works highlight the charm of irregularities and asymmetries, turning so-called defects into striking focal points. Within these stories, emotions, and scars, we find a raw vulnerability that uncovers the true beauty in it all.

Dissolution, 2024

Blown Glass Vessel, Divorce Papers

Dissolution Artist Statement:

In this piece I delve into the complex interplay between form and content, exploring themes of confinement, emptiness, and the dissolution of relationships. Crafted from hand-blown glass, the vessel stands as a symbol of containment, yet paradoxically devoid of any functionality. Its sealed form renders it inaccessible, emphasizing a sense of emptiness and impossibility, akin to a discarded mistake left to linger.

The crumpled appearance of the glass, reminiscent of discarded paper or refuse, serves as a visual metaphor for the aftermath of broken relationships. Within this vessel of confinement, layers of text emerge, interwoven with the glass like tangled thoughts and emotions. However, upon closer inspection, these seemingly chaotic layers reveal themselves to be fragments of legal documents, specifically separation and divorce papers.

The juxtaposition of the fragile, transparent glass with the weighty, bureaucratic language of legal documents underscores the vulnerability and impermanence of human connections. The layers of text, once symbols of commitment and union, now appear as detritus, discarded and relegated to the realm of waste.

Through this sculpture, I invite viewers to contemplate the complexities of human relationships, the fragility of communication, and the inevitable disintegration that accompanies separation. As the layers of text and glass converge, they evoke a sense of entrapment within the confines of broken promises and lost hopes, compelling us to confront the haunting emptiness left in their wake.