Michael David (b.1952) & Kit Karbler (b.1954), "Vortex Bowl"
Abstract sculpture of clear and colored glass with wide polished facets. Signed and dated, 1992.

This elegant sculpture melds contemporary art with ancient tradition. Blown glass bowls have existed since the Romans developed the blowpipe over 2000 years ago. In the "Vortex Bowl" series, Michael David and Kit Karbler reimagine this ancient form.

In this example, they sliced away six large sections from a narrow-rimmed bowl, thus removing not only its functionality, but the distinction between its interior and exterior. What remains are three free-form, asymmetric shapes with wide facets rising from a triangular base. The artists' website states, "The primary purpose of [our] work is not to simply allow you to hold objects, but to hold your imagination and light." The pink pontil mark and blue base together with the subtle green bands rising to the rim evoke the Earth's core, oceans and forests, while the wide smooth bevels of the cloud-like structures do their best to capture the light.

Much of David and Karbler's work centers around this theme of a utilitarian object and its relationship to Nature. A scent bottle from the "Sun, Wind and Sky" series can be seen in The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York.[1] Their work can also be found in other museums including the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and the Kjarvalsstadir Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland.


[1] See Susanne K. Frantz, "Contemporary Glass- A World Survey from the Corning Museum of Glass" (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989) page 78.

American c. 1992
8.5" high x 12" diameter

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Condition: Flawless condition.

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Michael David trained at the University of Colorado, Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Kit Karbler trained at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and UCLA. Their collaboration began in 1979 and together they work from their Blake Street Glass Studio in Denver. Their works can be found in numerous museums including the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning New York.

See also:
Judith Miller, "20th- Century Glass" (New York: DK Publishing, 2004), 207.