Where can I see her art?
Instagram: @anamarianavaglass
Website: https://www.anamarianava.glass/
A pop up experience at The Lincoln Eatery in Lincoln Road in Miami Beach until the end of September 2024.
Permanently at Contemporaneo Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina.
Permanently at Chasen Galleries at the Mark in Sarasota, Florida.
Ana María Nava is a glass artist and architect from Maracaibo, Venezuela she currently lives and works in Miami, Florida.
Her Story
"I started working with glass in 1995. It arrived to my life like something magical. I graduated from architecture from Zulia University and for a few years I had my architectural practice and a woodworking workshop with two friend architects. I loved the feeling of seeing the finished designs at the workshop. After a few years I realized that I wanted to do something that would only depend on myself. I started taking stained glass classes with Mary Bellorin, a friend artist that had been my art teacher in high school. She was looking for students with experience in design. It was perfect for me, I fell in love with glass then. I kept practicing architecture and worked with stained glass at the same time. I started incorporating stained glass in my designs. I opened a home studio in Maracaibo. At the time it was just what I needed. I had two young daughters and this allowed me to spend time with them while working in something I loved. I would travel often and searched for materials abroad. In one of those travels, in 2002, I met an artist that worked with fused glass and I was captivated by it. Very soon I had a couple of kilns running in my home studio. I wanted to learn more about glass fusing and everything related to kiln formed glass. In 2004, I had the opportunity to attend summer classes at Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle, WA to learn kiln casting. It was an great place to learn. It was my first experience in such an amazing school. Learning about glass was important for me so I started traveling to Portland, Oregon and Italy every 2 years to learn new techniques that I would incorporate into my practice”.
In 2021 Ana María moved to the United States and opened her studio Navaglass Art Studio.
"Two years ago (in 2022) I went back to Pilchuck Glass School, after 18 years, this time invited to do a Professional Artistic Residency. This is an immersive experience where you get to explore your ideas in a safe environment surrounded by a small group of artists, work alongside them and share experiences with them 24/7. I have been invited again, I am looking forward to returning this fall (2024) to take the opportunity to pause and think about my work and where is it going."
She emphasizes how the support of her family has been very important in her life as an artist.
Her Work
"My approach to glass work is non traditional. I am interested in creating glass art that can integrate to architectural spaces. I explore different ideas by making them real, by trial and error, by learning from myself. I design technical solutions that give support and structure to my work. Permanence is important for me."
Ana Maria explains her Glass Textiles: "Glass is transformed into a mesh. Something as fragile and rigid as glass becomes strong and flexible, this contradiction fascinates me". She expresses her passion about textiles, "every culture has developed textiles, they cover us, give us shelter, adorn us”. And continues by saying, "Glass Textiles are versatile, they can be arranged in different ways and change depending on the space they are installed in. If you illuminate the glass work in a certain way you get a particular effect that becomes part of the piece."
"The Clouds are an evolution of the unit of the Glass Textiles. They have an organic essence and kept the movement and adaptability of the Glass Textiles. They are inspired in the color splashes that are our first attempts to express ourselves as children. They jump to the surrounding walls and ceiling and create shadows that are an extension of them."
"I like to use frit glass in my work (granulated glass for fusing and casting) as it allows me to be more flexible when I am creating”.
What are you focused on now?
"I am working in an investigation that I call Murallas. They are translucent glass sculptures that have a lot of texture and information. They could be described as constructivist pieces but are playful at the same time. I incorporate cement bases in them. I like the contrast of the two materials. I am experimenting on making them in large and small formats. I like the idea of playing with scale."
"Making art is about exploring ideas and actually making them a reality to see if they work. Sometimes they do not, that is when you realize that you need to change, broaden your investigation, become more open. I feel I have thousands of ideas I want to try out. Explorations can last for years, this is a never ending path."
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