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Play the Glass Untitled
2002
45 pieces
Blown glass





Hiromi Masuda

Hiromi Masuda (born 1942 in Yokohama) studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Art and Music (1962 – 1966) and the Graduate School of Tokyo National University of Fine Art and Music (1967 – 1969). Her solo exhibition, Play the Glass, has been held in myriad places, such as the Scuoletta di San Giovanni Battista e del SS Sacramento, Venice Biennale, Italy (2005); Span at Gallery Tokyo, Japan (2004); Bentara Budaya Jakarta (2004); MIM museum Piacenza Italy (2004); Church of S. Francesco’s courtyard, Venice, Italy (2003).

The Wind of Venezia
The wind that stroked the fleeting travelers' cheeks
down the narrow streets of Venice
began to dream of a world beyond the line, sea and sky meet
listening to the story of the unseen world far and far away.

The wind of Venezia transformed himself into glass
on the island of Murano and boarded ship.
He told his friends fellow winds about his dream
of traveling over the ocean.
The friends celebrated the departure of him,
helping the ship to set sail by blowing their friendly winds,
into the sails and bulging them.
A new wind blowing over the ocean called one friend after another
and helped together the ship cross the ocean over the swelling waves.

The ship headed south.
During the long voyage he was sometimes induced
to dream further on the dark bottom of the ship
with his heart excited by the thought of his immediate visit.

Soon the ship came into the harbor, warmly welcomed
by the hot winds of the new world.

The Glass, the wind that used to blow along the alleys of Venice,
now looks up at the Southern Cross under the deep green leaves
of the tropical trees, excitedly satisfied with the thought
that his dream has been realized, not ending as an empty dream.

Play the Glass
Since my first exhibition, I have been using the title Play the Glass together with its musical meaning. I arrived at this expression because the glass and my body seem to move rhythmically under the direction of the blowpipe when I am blowing a shape.

And Play the Glass has an even more important meaning for me. It's playing with glass. By letting the weight of worldly cares fall from my shoulders, and playing spontaneously with the glass, I find I can learn a great deal about it. I approach life letting myself to go discover the true essence of things.

Glass is the formative material that best stimulates my imagination. This is probably because glass is better experienced physically than understood mentally.
The delight I feel when I discover truth during the glassmaking process is something I wish to communicate in an increasingly effective way, to as many people as possible. (Artist's Statement)

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