Jochen Holz is a glass artist whose innovative employment of lampworking, a form of glassblowing used primarily to make scientific equipment, is repurposing the technique in the design and art world. Indeed, whilst he has received training in scientific lampworking, Holz has chosen to practice it creatively, a radical departure from its traditional usage which positions him as one of the only people working in his field in the UK.
Through extensive practice, Holz has developed a distinct language in his craft. One example is his method for texturing clear glass tubes by pressing molten areas onto different surfaces such as perforated metal or wood, resulting in textured, undulating tableware. Always pushing perceived ideas of his material, Holz sees this tableware series–enriched with character, shape and history–as the antithesis of Walter Benjamin’s idea that glass is a ‘material with no aura’.
Education
2001-2003 MA – Ceramics and Glass, Royal College of Art, London, UK
1997-2000 BFA – Glass, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, UK
1992-1995 Apprenticeship – Scientific Lampworking, Glasfachschule Hadamar, DE
Exhibitions
2020 “Modern Master” – HWK München, Munich
2020 “Collect” – Seeds Gallery, London, UK
2020 “Make Space” – Hauser and Wirth, Somerset, UK
2019 “Design Miami/ 2018” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2019 Showcase at Wolfson College, Oxford, UK
2019 “Masters of Disguise” – Seeds Gallery, London, UK
2019 “Superficies” – Flow Gallery, London, England, UK
2019 “New Glass” 25 Year Anniversary Show – Corning Museum, New York, NY
2018 “Design Miami/ 2018” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2018 “Collect” – Saatchi Gallery with See-ds Gallery, London, UK
2018 “The House Electric” – A Plus A Gallery, Venice, IT
2018 “A Future Heritage” – Decorex, London, UK
2017 “Peter Pilotto: Town house takeover” – London Design Festival, London, UK
2017 “Tresor” – Contemporary Craft Fair, Basel, Switzerland
2017 “The Breakfast Pavillion” – A plus A Gallery and Studio M-L-XL, Venice, IT
2017 “Nomad Monaco” – Cumuliform Neon installation, Monaco
2017 “Peter Pilotto, Jewellery for Fashion show AW17”
2017 “Meta: Levels of Language, Strata of Matter’, Galleria Salvatore Lanteri, Milan, IT
2017 “Domestic Appeal” – Chamber Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Supports-Surface” – See-ds, London, UK
2016 “Handicraft: Traditional Skills in the Digital Age” – MAK, Vienna, Austria
2016 “Show Collaboration with Tiago Almeida” – Momosan, London, UK
2016 “Ready Made Go” – Ace Hotel, London, UK
2016 “Just what is it” – Chamber Gallery, New York, NY
2016 “Decorex with the New Craftsmen” – London, UK
2016 “Martino Gamper and Friends” – See-ds, London, UK
2016 “The Future Lab” – Basel, Switzerland and Miami, FL
2016 “‘Guts’ Jochen Holz and Richard Wheater” – Neon Workshop, Wakefield, UK
2015 “Many a Slip” – Marsden Woo Summer Show, London, UK
2014 “Atemporaneo” – Apalazzo Art Gallery, Brescia, IT
2014 “Robo Glass” – Taipei University, Taiwan
Honors
2018 Winner of ‘Arts Foundation’ Prize
2015 Winner of commission competition ‘Guild of the Master Glass Sellers’
2004 Shortlisted for Bombay Sapphire Award
2003 Winner of Centre Prize Award
2000 RSA Bursary Award 6 month placement at Dartington Crystal
Publications
2018 Hole and Corner, May
2018 Crafts Magazine, March/April
2017 Brutus, June
2017 Novembre Magazine, Issue 11
2016 New York Times T-Magazine, September issue