The Corning Museum of Glass and Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) announced the launch of a new artist residency program, which will support artists in adapting specialty glass materials for the creation of new work. The first artist selected for this unique collaboration is American sculptor Albert Paley, who is best known for his large-scale works in metal.

Corning Incorporated, which has developed and patented more than 150 specialty glass formulations, will provide the resident artist with access to specialty glass, as well as access to staff with technical expertise in glass formulation, melting, and forming.

“We are dedicated to innovation and experimentation with glass, and have a long history of collaborating with artists” said Dr. David Morse, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Corning Incorporated. “We look forward to continuing this tradition and are eager to see how artists will use these specialty materials, and perhaps even add to our understanding of their capabilities and adaptability.”

The Corning Museum of Glass will provide access to its extensive resources, including its glassmaking facilities and collection. The resident artist will work closely with the Museum’s glassmakers, curators, and other staff to better understand glass and its historical and artistic contexts.

“The museum, which celebrates innovation in glassmaking from the past two millennia and glass as a material for contemporary art, is pleased to support this new artistic endeavor,” said Dr. Karol Wight, executive director of The Corning Museum of Glass. “Albert is an ideal artist to inaugurate the residency because of his focus on material and form.” 

Paley has chosen to work with two Corning glasses. He will primarily explore furnace-working and casting of Corning Code 7056, a borosilicate glass that was engineered to bond tightly to a metal alloy called Kovar. Corning 7056 is used industrially in special electronic circuit packages that need the durability of the metal, and the transparency of glass, with a perfect, air-tight seal between the two. In addition, he will investigate high-purity fused silica (HPFS).  HPFS can be aggressively shaped and joined with a torch, similar to how Paley works metal.

“The unique characteristics of Corning specialty glasses will allow me to interface with new techniques and materials previously unavailable to me,” says Paley. “Over the past 15 years I have developed a body of sculpture incorporating glass and steel. Although these materials are totally different, they share the commonality of forms that are derived from heat. The plasticity of form development is viewed within an organic form context. The relationship of these materials results in a dialogue and a synergy. This Corning program aids and enhances this research and inquiry.” 

Paley will work on the Corning campus through June 30, 2015. Residencies in 2015 will be by invitation only. 

Notable examples of Paley’s work include the Portal Gates for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; Synergy, a ceremonial archway in Philadelphia; the Portal Gates for the New York State Senate Chambers in Albany, NY; and Sentinel, a monumental plaza sculpture for the Rochester Institute of Technology. Recently completed works include three sculptures for the National Harbor development near Washington, DC; a 130’ long archway named Animals Always for the St. Louis Zoo; a gate for the Cleveland Botanical Gardens in Cleveland; a sculptural relief for Wellington Place, Toronto; Threshold, a sculpture for the corporate headquarters of Klein Steel, Rochester, NY; and Transformation, a ceremonial entranceway for Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.