Christopher Ries (right) at the installation of his piece "Opus."

Christopher Ries (b. 1952) is an American glass sculptor. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colours as shown in this ball from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... Sculptor redirects here. ...

Ries was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up on a farm. He attended Ohio State University, where he earned a BFA in glass and ceramics. He later went on to earn an MFA while serving as an assistant to Harvey Littleton, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, who is responsible for founding the modern American studio glass movement. Flag Seal Nickname: The Arch City The Discovery City Location Location in the state of Ohio Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Ohio Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 550. ... The Ohio State University is a coeducational public research university in the U.S. state of Ohio. ... The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public university located in Madison, Wisconsin. ...

After experimenting with glassblowing, Ries began working in the classical reductive technique, beginning with a large block of optical glass and reducing and shaping it to the desired form. His larger sculptures can begin as blocks of glass weighing over 1,000 pounds, and the process of reducing and polishing can take as much as a year. Sculpting hot blown glass Glassblowing is the process of forming glass into useful shapes while the glass is in a molten, semi-liquid state. ...

His piece "Opus," displayed in Columbus Airport in Columbus, Ohio, is the world's largest monolithic glass sculpture. Weighing in at nearly 1,500 pounds, it was sculpted from a 3,000-pound block of glass. A single crystal is a crystalline solid in which the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuous and unbroken to the edges of the sample. ...

Ries' sculptures are noted for the changing internal optical patterns he creates and for their technical proficiency. The glass he uses is clear lead-crystal cast, of the sort typically used for fiber-optic cables. This glass is among the best transmitters of the visible portion of the spectrum, and that fact accounts for the optical illusions Ries is able to create. A bundle of optical fibers. ... In most modern usages of the word spectrum, there is a unifying theme of between extremes at either end. ... An optical illusion characterized by visually perceived images that, at least in common sense terms, are deceptive or misleading. ...

"Embrace" displays the internal optical patterns typical of Ries' works.

His works have won several awards and are exhibited in major collections and museums in the United States, Europe, and Japan, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the National Heisey Glass Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Tampa Museum of Art. World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ...

Since 1986, he has been artist-in-residence at Schott Glass Technologies in Duryea, Pennsylvania. He lives with his family in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Duryea is a borough located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. ... Tunkhannock is a borough located in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. ...

References

External links

• Christopher Ries' site