Colored celadon glass by Martin Szeleky

For the Cirva, Martin Szekely has devised a series of dishes whose drawing process is founded on the principle of chance. He knows that glass doesn’t easily let itself be “drawn” and that the final form is determined by stopping the gesture at a specific moment. In the manner of Marcel Duchamp’s Three standard stoppages, metal ribbons of different lengths are thrown on a surface to determine the drawing at random.

The dishes are based on the Mistral technique developed by designer Gaetano Pesce at Cirva. This technique consists in projecting on a support the molten glass powder subjected to a flame of 1100 °. With sand and silicate, a mold is then prepared which leaves this shape recessed to receive the molten glass.

Once cooled, the celadon color glass looks like smooth skin, a mirror or a puddle of water. With this work on randomness, Martin Szekely explores the limits of drawing, an experience that runs through all the production contexts that he has been able to challenge throughout his career. Thus, he claims a certain aesthetic of “wandering” that allows thought to retain a freedom, whether in industrial projects or in those who remain, as in Cirva, more craft.

These glass experiments are to be seen at CID, Grand Hornu until May 26th.

Martin Szekely was born in Paris in 1956 where he lives and works. He graduated from Boulle and Estienne schools (Paris)