Joanna Manousis
Joanna Manousis
Artist processes
My work is born out of a sustained exploration of human nature and the conflicts that exist between our inner reality and the world we occupy. I often emphasize decadence and grandiosity to illuminate the superfluous nature of accumulated luxury when faced with our own impermanence. I am also interested in engaging the viewer’s gaze, drawing the participant into a state of reflection, literally and philosophically, about the essence of human existence and ideas related to growth, emotionality, aspiration and mortality.
Glass is my chosen medium and I am drawn to its contrasting qualities–transparent yet solid, it simultaneously reveals yet barricades. In recent works I use cast glass as a lens to magnify residual formations of objects within. On occasion these negative spaces are mirrored, enlivening static surfaces in my pursuit to reflect the viewer and the environment that the work inhabits. Incorporating the audience’s gaze, whether it is distorted or clear, centralizes the viewer within the work itself, facilitating a stronger connection between observer and object.
Joanna Manousis is a British–American artist working in glass and mixed media. Her work has been recognized with nominations for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award and a Bombay Sapphire Award Nomination for ‘Excellence in Glass’ as well as the Margaret M. Mead Award and the Hans Godo Frabel Award. Manousis has received support from internationally recognized residency programs including the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Corning Museum of Glass, New York; and Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France. Her work has been exhibited at Design Miami and Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland; FOG Art + Design, San Francisco; the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Denmark; and the British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge, England.
She holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Alfred University, New York, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art–Glass from The University of Wolverhampton, England. Manousis has worked, studied and taught in Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.
Solo Exhibitions
2014 The Dominant Sophia, Urban Glass Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Selected Works, Neusole Glass Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2012-13 Presence in the Past, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
Fertile Ground, Exhibit A, Corning, NY, USA
Selected Works, Gravers Lane Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 A Reflection of Time, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Alfred, NY, USA
2007 Ladies and Lace, Bilston Craft Gallery, UK
BA Thesis Exhibition, Wolverhampton University, UK
Group Exhibitions
2016 Collective Design, Skylight Clarkson Square, New York, NY
Lifeforms 2016, Hodge Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA / Houghton Gallery, Corning, NY
The Garden of Earthly Delights, Ease Gallery, Columbus, OH
Fog Design + Art, Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, San Francisco, CA
2015 Sofa Chicago, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, Chicago, IN
Collective Design, Skylight Clarkson Square, New York, NY
2014 The Salon: Art + Design, New York, NY
Sofa Chicago, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, Chicago, IN
Coburg Prize, Rödental, Germany
2014 2nd Biennial of Contemporary Glass, David Owsley Museum of Art, Ball State University, Muncie, IN
2013 Gathering: Contemporary Glass from the Heartland, Kokomo, IN
Shattered: Contemporary Sculpture in Glass, Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI
2013 Young Sculptors Competition, Miami University, Miami, OH
Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
Best of 2013: Ohio Designer Craftsmen, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus
Bruntnell Astley Contemporary Glass, Ruskin Glass Center, Stourbridge, UK
Collective Design Fair, Manhattan, NY
Glass Weekend, Wheaton Arts Center, NJ, USA
New Visions, Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Glass Weekend, Wheaton Arts Center, NJ, USA
2012 Urban Glass MFA Show, Manhattan, NY
2011 – 12 Breath Taking, Crafts Council, London, UK
2011 Art in Craft Media, Burchfield Penny Art Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
Southern Tier Biennial, Olean, NY
Contemporary Glass, Exhibit A, Corning, NY
2010 E-Merge, Bullseye Glass Gallery, Portland, OR, USA
Domesticity: How We Live, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, PA, USA
Home, Glass Museum at Broadfield House, Stourbridge, UK
2009 The Hans Frabel Glass Awards, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, (Permanent collection) Ebeltoft, Denmark
2009 The Feast, Pittsburgh University Gallery, Kansas, USA
2008 Pilchuck Glass Auction, Seattle, USA
Origin, Somerset House, London, UK
Beautifully Crafted, 10th Year Anniversary, The National Glass Museum, UK
Glass Routes, Bilston Craft Gallery, UK
The British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge, UK
The Bombay Sapphire Awards, Via Tortona, Milan, Italy
2007 New Designers, Business Design Center, London, UK
Pearson’s Glass Awards, Cardiff, Wales
