This exhibition features the work of two of Britain’s leading artists working in hot glass. Neil Wilkin and Rachael Woodman have worked collaboratively for over 40 years – however, Harvest: Fruit Gathering is their first exhibition together.

The work of Neil Wilkin and Rachael Woodman is about love – of materials; of process; of natural and spiritual worlds. As makers they have committed their lives to a pursuit of perfection in form and colour, harnessing the unique optical and physical qualities of glass.

This has allowed both artists to express their mastery of glass as a medium, through the creation of beautiful new work inspired by the natural and spiritual world.

I find great joy in making vessels. The colours, form and heat exhilarate me. In the colours, I see hard and soft layers of rock strata, and tulips! Nature has many parallels.
Neil Wilkin

Neil Wilkin

Neil Wilkin’s passion for glassblowing and an enduring love of landscape and what forms it, have been the driving forces behind a lifetime of making. This deep connection to the natural world is central to his work.

He uses glass and the processes that form it to explore, celebrate and reflect the richness and extraordinary diversity around him. The colours he uses, hard and soft, absorbing and transmitting light, inform his work both physically and aesthetically. In recent years Neil has harnessed the optical qualities of solid glass in combination with the fluid richness of hot glass to explore new perspectives. He fabricates stainless steel to create larger, site specific installations, both indoor and outdoor.

Neil’s work is found in public and private collections around the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Hepworth Wakefield and Crafts Council Collection in the UK.

Rachael Woodman

Rachael Woodman has been working with glass for over forty years. She studied at The Royal College of Art, and has work in collections including the V&A, Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Crafts Council.

Rachael’s work has been exhibited extensively around the world, and she has had solo exhibitions in the UK and across Europe. Her work is phenomenally collectable.

Her work demonstrates a purity and concern for simplicity of line along with an acute awareness of colour.
www.adriansassoon.com

‘Harvest: Fruit Gathering’ is a touring exhibition from Ruthin Craft Centre.
Curated by Gregory Parsons.
All images courtesy Steve Heaton.
Top: Rachael Woodman, Fruit Bowl – purple lustre (detail), 2022