Joseph Harrington

Joseph Harrington is a sculptor working in cast glass working near South Godstone, Surrey. He was born 1979 and spent his early years in the Somerset countryside. He achieved a 1st class BA in Ceramics and Glass at Buckinghamshire University College (2002) and went on to graduate with an MA in Ceramics and Glass from the Royal College of Art in 2006. Since 2012 he has run his own studio in Surrey. Career highlights are winning ‘Best in Show’ at the 2017 British Glass Biennale and having his work purchased by the V&A Museum for their permanent collection. He also has work purchased by Chrysler Museum, Norfolk Virginia and Manchester Metropolitan Special Collections Museum. Joseph has exhibited both nationally and internationally including a 2013 solo exhibition 'Landscape Portraits' at Bullseye Projects, Portland USA and frequently exhibits at ‘Collect’ art fair at Somerset House. Teaching is an important element of his practice, having taught in various glass centres around the world, including, (Corning Glass Museum (USA), Bullseye Glass (USA), The Fire Station (Dublin), Anla Glas (Denmark), Glass Hub, (UK), Warm Glass (UK). He spent 15 years working part time at Central St Martins College in London, leaving in 2021 to work full time in his own studio, where he also runs workshops throughout the year. Alongside his own artwork he has built up business fabricating and casting glass work for other artists. ‘I interpret landscapes through exploration of material. I focus on the erosion of coastlines and rivers as a spectacle of discovery and generation of form, revealing a sense of the history and movement of a place. The work is produced using my ‘Lost Ice Process.’ I use salt to sculpt ice as a one-off ephemeral model to take a direct cast from. The textures this provides, and the transient nature of the creative process reflects the erosion and sense of time in the landscape. There is a roughness from the initial cast that is ground polished and refined to its final finish, revealing the internal structures of the glass and creating facets and flat planes to redefine the essence of the made against the organic surface.’