Liam Fleming: Falling into Space

Liam Fleming is an Adelaide-based glassblower, artist and designer who has developed a singular glass practice alongside years of experience as a production glassblower and assistant to other makers.

His distinctive vocabulary of forms and techniques test the constraints of glassblowing while exploring the complicated relationship between craft, art, design and architecture. These concerns are evident in the recent Post-Production 2020 series shortlisted for the 2021 Ramsay Art Prize. These beguiling objects capture a moment of transformation through the “controlled demolition” of mould-blown forms. They are captivating in demonstrating expert technique, uncertainty and imperfection. 

Fleming’s new body of work results from further experiments with coldworking techniques, giving over to chance in the workshop and a philosophical exploration of the kinds of objects and qualities afforded by the medium of glass, which can take on different behaviours and potentials during fire polishing, fusing and slumping. The works also take inspiration from printmaking and twentieth-century colour theories to create new forms, surface texture, and colour combinations. 

Presented with the support of Canberra Glassworks, Australia Council for the Arts and the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation through the 2021 Guildhouse Fellowship.

Image: Liam Fleming, Post-Production 2020. Collection: Art Gallery of South Australia. Gift of Colin and Robyn Cowan through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation, 2021. Image courtesy of the artist, Adelaide. Photograph: Grant Hancock.