GILES BETTISON
In 1996 Giles Bettison graduated with honors as a glass major from the Canberra School of Art, of the Australian National University. Following, this he was further explored his art as a participant in Lino Tagliapietra's Advanced Glass Blowing Classes at the Pilchuck Glass School and at the Corning Museum of Glass.
Since 1998, Bettison has been a glass blowing and murrine workshop instructor at various institutions in Switzerland, France and the United States. Bettison is known for his work in glass and more specifically for his reliance on the longstanding Venetian technique of murrine.
“My work is an exploration of my movement through life, expressed in colors, patterns and forms. The light and color in rural and outback Australia are part of my experience of connecting to place and people. I use abstract representations of these and other places to explore my feelings; I want to include some essence of what these places mean to me.” Some works are shaped like wide-mouthed Aboriginal baskets and feel textiles in muted glass, others have the appearance of lace suspended in animation, and others simmer with the warm crimson and rich ochre of the landscape he calls home.
EDUCATION & TRAINING:
1996 Bachelor of Visual Arts, Canberra School of Art, Australian National University
1996 Participant, Advanced Glass Blowing with Lino Tagliapietra, Pilchuck Glass
School, Stanwood, Washington; The Studio at The Corning Museum of Glass, NY
1995 Participant, Alessi Design Workshop, University of New South Wales, Sydney
PRIZES AND AWARDS
2015 SALA (South Australian Living Artist) Award Winner.
2001 Gold Medal Bavarian State Prize
2001 Handwerkskammer fur Munchen und Oberbayern, Germany
1999 Urban Glass Award for New Talent, NY, USA
1998 Australia Council Development Grant to participate in Bullseye Glass Residency Program, Portland, Oregon.
1996 Finalist, Ebeltoft Young Glass International Glasmuseum, Ebeltoft, Denmark, Mitchell, Guirgiola. Thorpe Architects Award for Design, Australia, Australian National University Acquisition Award Canberra, Australia. Poncho Scholarship to attend Pilchuck Glass School Seattle, WA.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Australian National Gallery, Canberra, Australia
Australian National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Brisbane City Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Bullseye Glass Company, Portland, USA
Centro Videro do Norte Portugal, Oliveira de Azemeis, Portugal
Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI, USA
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
City of Hobart Gallery, Hobart, Australia
Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY, USA.
Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
Museum of Design and Applied Art, Lausanne, Switzerland
Museum of Art and Design, New York, USA
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
Resource Finance Corporation, Australia