Marc Petrovic graduated from the Cleveland institute of art in 1991. He was the recipient of the top Agnes Gund Memorial scholarship. Marc works out of his private studio that he shares with his wife Kari Russell-Pool near their home in Essex, Connecticut. Kari’s work can be seen at KariRussell-Pool.com. They have two wonderful children, Phoebe and Kay, and two above average dogs, Pixie and Roux.

I strive to be an artist first and a hot glass sculptor second. Although I primarily work with glass, a material most commonly viewed as a craft material, I strive to make content driven work that stresses the idea at its core rather than the seductive material it is made from.

Glass is a fantastic material to create work with. Once you get past the expansive technical difficulties of working with this material, it offers the creator almost endless possibilities for form, color, and content. It is one of the few materials where you work with color and form simultaneously. Glass also has the unique ability to be opaque, translucent, or completely transparent.

But glass in itself is limited. It is just a material. Until it is infused with an idea, a source, or an expression, my job as an artist is not complete.

My approach to working is to make many varied parts. Most parts are made to satisfy a list for sketched pieces; with extra parts and variations being made at the same time. Often times these parts sit for months or years before they make their way into one of my pieces.

I like working with these extra parts. I tend to view them as home made found objects. As they sit on my shelves with seemingly disparate parts, some of these parts start to dialogue with each other and new ideas emerge. This gives a lot of crossover between my pieces as distinct parts get used in various series.

My pieces revolve around ideas that both intrigue and befuddle me. While these pieces ask alot of questions, they attempt to answer none. They simply serve as a way to contain and continue a dialogue. At the nucleus of each sculpture is an idea around which the piece grows. In a sense, the way a grain of sand aggravates the oyster enough that it creates a pearl.

MARC PETROVIC

Education

BFA 1991

Cleveland Institute of Art

Top Agnes Gund Award recipient

Selected Collections

Niijima Museum of Glass

Tokyo, Japan

Charlotte Mint Museum

Charlotte, North Carolina

Tucson Museum of Art

Tucson, Arizona

The Racine Art Museum

Racine, Wisconsin

Galleries

Dane Gallery, Nantucket, MA

Heller Gallery, New York, NY

Habatat Galleries, Boca Raton, FL

Selected Exhibitions

Spring 2006 Sofa New York, Ferrin Gallery; Lenox, MA

Fall 2005 Sofa Chicago, Ferrin Gallery; Lenox, MA

Fall 2004 Sofa Chicago, Ferrin Gallery; Lenox, MA

August 2004 Solo Exhibition, “whisper”, Ferrin Gallery; Lenox, MA

May 2003 Solo Exhibition, “Sense of Place”, Heller Gallery; NY,NY

July 2002 Solo Exhibition, Dane GalÃlery; Nantucket, MA

August 2001 Solo Exhibition of Collaborative Work, Riley Hawk Galleries;

Cleveland, OH

April 2001 Solo Exhibition, Habatat Galleries; Boca Raton, FL

May 2000 Solo Exhibition, Riley Hawk Galleries; Kirkland, WA

Spring 98-00 Sofa New York, Riley Hawk Galleries; New York, Ny

Fall 91-03 Sofa Chicago, Riley Hawk Galleries; Chicago, Ill

94-02 “Glass America”,Heller Gallery; New York, NY: Invitational Exhibition.

December 98-02 Habatat Invitational, Habatat Gallery; Boca Raton, FL

June 93-01 “Glass Lover’s Weekend”, Riley Hawk Galleries; Milleville, NJ: Biannual Event

November 98 Solo Exhibition, Habatat Gallery; Boca Raton, FL

June 98 Solo Exhibition, Riley Hawk Galleries: Cleveland, OH

June 97 “Directionals and Markers”, Riley Hawk Galleries; Columbus, OH

June 97 “Glass Today: American Studio Glass from Cleveland Collection”, Cleveland Museum of Art; Cleveland, OH

April 97 “!Calido!”, Tucson Museum of Art; Tucson, AZ. Group Show

March 96-97 Sofa Miami, Riley Hawk Galleries; Miami, FL

February 97 “In Celebration of Tea”, Celestial Seasonings Corporation, Boulder, CO; First Place/Juried Competition.

August 96 “Form from Pattern”, Heller Gallery; New York,NY:

with Kari Russell-Pool.

January 96 “New Work”, Riley Hawk Galleries, Cleveland, OH:

with Kari Russell-Pool.

September 94 Solo Exhibition, Riley Hawk Galleries, Columbus, OH

April 94 Solo Shåow, Heller Gallery; Palm Beach, FL

Solo Exhibition.

June 93 Solo Show, Riley Hawk Gallery, Cleveland, OH

Workshops

Instructor Espace Verre, Montreal, Canada.

Visiting Artist Niijima Glass Festival, Niijima, Japan.

Instructor Harbour Front Centre; Toronto, Canada

Instructor Penland School of Crafts, Hot Glass.

Four times including one Eight week concentration.

Instructor Corning School of Glass, Hot Glass.

Instructor Cleveland Institute of Art, Summer Class, Hot Glass.

Visiting Artist Toyama Institute of Glass; Toyama, Japan.

Workshops also given at Rhode Island School of Design , The Cleveland Institute of Art, Illinois State, University of Illinois, Sheridan College, University of Miami, and the Massachusetts Institute of Art, as well as demonstrations at several Glass Art Society Conferences.