Born in Ithaca, New York, Ethan Stern recently moved to Los Angeles, California after 16 years of living and working in Seattle, Washington. He currently shares a studio in the West Adams neighborhood of L.A. with his wife Amanda McDonald Stern where he makes his glass work. Ethan earned his Associates degree in Ceramics at TAFE College in Brisbane Australia and his BFA in Sculpture and Glass from Alfred University. Stern’s work is widely exhibited and is held in the collections of The Corning Museum of Glass, The Museum of Glass in Tacoma Washington, The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, The Lowe Art Museum, The Museum of American Glass, The Palm Springs Art Museum, The Eboltoft Glass Museum in Denmark, and the Toyama Glass Art Museum in Japan. Ethan has taught sculpture at the University of Washington, Pilchuck Glass School, Pratt Fine Arts Center, The Penland School of Craft and the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
Pushing glass beyond the anatomy of the vessel, Ethan Stern’s work is an ongoing exploration of abstraction, color, texture and light. While glass typically reflects light and has an inherently shiny and dense appearance, He is drawn to a richer, more luminous effect that can be achieved by carving and engraving the surface. These engraved marks, like the stroke of a paintbrush on canvas or a finger pushed into clay; leave evidence of the Artists hand and are undeniably connected to his process and the nature of the material itself. |