Bandhu Dunham

Bio

Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1959, Bandhu Dunham began to teach himself lampwork/flamework technique in 1975, while still in high school. Now an internationally respected glass artist, author, and teacher, his work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums in the United States and abroad, including the Corning Museum of Glass, The Museum of Arts and design, Museum für Glaskunst (Germany). Niijima Glass Art Center (Japan), and OsakaUniversity of Arts. He is known for his whimsical, groundbreaking kinetic sculptures in glass as well as goblets and abstract Spheres and Baskets.

Bandhu's Contemporary Lampworking books are the authoritative, standard instructional texts in his field. He regularly teaches workshops at craft schools and private studios around the United States and internationally. In 2010 he was Visiting Foreign Instructor at Osaka University of Arts in Osaka, Japan. Since then he has taught and lectured on his work for the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge, England; the Ausglass Conference in Australia; the Glass Art Society; and the International Society of Glass Beadmakers.

Artist Statement

"I always wanted to be a mad scientist or an alchemist. By fifteen, I had an extensive chemistry lab in my parents' basement. Since the beakers at the hobby store were never cool-looking enough, I taught myself the basics of lampwork glassblowing. Later, I dropped out of Chemical Engineering at Princeton to become an artist.

Whimsy and elegance are the yin and yang of the functional work; the goblets display a childlike delight or playful combinations of forms. Many of the sculptural pieces seem to carry scars, implying growth over time or an unspoken history. The patterns of Nature and Nature's effects on man-made structures fascinate me. I express my experience of the natural world by incorporating odd juxtapositions and bending forms to follow my own sensibility.

I find glass the perfect medium for this kind of work: its fluidity, malleability, and paradoxical nature bring out the mysterious parts of myself that I seek to explore and express through art. I enjoy and have pursued lampworking since 1975 because of its immediacy and practicality. The beauty, transparency, and fragility of glass are especially well-suited for exploring the themes that interest me.

Fanciful steam engines and other kinetic sculptures represent a full turn of the circle, back to the colorful, elemental mysteries that captivated my childhood self. He's still in there, and wants you to come play, too."

We welcome inquiries. Bandhu Dunham can fabricate a Marble Machine to your price range, desired colors, add customization, motorized or hand crank.