aesthetic versus practival side of hanging fused glass

[Maggie Abdel Rahman]

Hi to all friends and colleagues

I would appreciate your opinion on the aesthetic, rather than the practival side of hanging small to medium fused glass panels on the wall. I personally like standoff systems but sometimes it is more practical to use white painted plywood as a background . So what's your opinion, is wood acceptable or bulky?

[rosanna gusler]

if it looks right, it is right. rosanna

[Bert Weiss]

Maggie

I think a lot depends on what sort of glass is used and the translucency vs transparency. If light can get through the glass, I find that a gap between glass and white background can make it pop, even with front lighting.

[Judd]

I mount my pieces on a white backer board; the board is then framed in a nice frame I got from a thrift store for a dollar or two. I use a lot of transparent/semi-transparents and like a true color-read for the glass. Whatever floats your boat.

[DonMcClennen]

I suggest that white plywood or thrift store frames cheapen your work. A stand alone glass art piece spaced off wall would be a more "Gallery" quality mount.

[Morganica]

That's one of those "how long is a piece of rope" questions. I've seen a few wood-backed pieces that could go into any museum, and many others that are tacky as all get-out.

A self-backed transparent glass piece can be more effective with a white backing, especially if it stands away from the board, because it bounces some light into the piece. I think it can also be more effective if the work needs a lighter background for display. Not every gallery (or customer setting) has white walls, and the converse is also true: If you're making white/light glasswork a darker background solves the same issue.

It doesn't necessarily have to be plywood, though--you can work with a metal shop to build a lightweight metal backing that integrates hangers and standoffs, and can be powder-coated, enameled or anodized to any color you need. Those can be gorgeous and aren't as expensive as you might think.

One of the hardest lessons for me (so far) has been treating the display of the work with the same care as I take with the sculpture itself, and not just leaving mounting/frame/etc. as an afterthought. It really makes a difference.

[Mary Lou]

Hi Maggie, In a solo show I did recently, I created some work for hanging as well as for plinth display. For hanging I had to comply with a click rail system. I decided on two processes. One was to have the work framed by a professional framer and the other I experimented with myself. I bought some heavy gauge aluminum, cut to the sizes I needed. Took them to a welding shop to have brackets welded on the back and then to a sandblaster for blasting with glass beads. I was satisfied with the results although I've since found another way to attach the brackets to the aluminum and I would get a little heavier gauge next time. Here are a couple of pics of two examples which I sold although they may not be considered by some as gallery quality. I wasn't as pleased with all the framed pieces as I was with this one. Mary Lou.