In the early seventies, Shaffer pioneered slumped glass, which she used even then in association with found objects, but it is only one of a great many approaches she has taken to the medium. Having begun her career as a painter, she early on responded to the expressive appeal of glass and, not least, to its versatility.

Working with every form of the material from fiber optics to monumental sheets of molten plate, she has fashioned intimate objects, narrative-driven room-sized installations, and fully abstract large-scale public commissions. Among some discernible constants are an interest in the way glass permutes the interactions of mass and light, and a belief that “art is a way of slowing down time.” The tool sculptures go further, arresting the physical response of glass to gravity in mid-movement, and providing perceptual events of surpassing clarity.

     ENAM is hosting a reception for the artist on April 24, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Shaffer will present a lecture at 7:30 during the reception.  Ms. Shaffer’s work is collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art,  Kyoto’s Museum of Modern Art, and The American Craft Museum in New York City, to name a few.

www.maryshaffer.com