Peter Bremers

Peter Bremers is renowned for his glass sculptures inspired by nature's most extreme landscapes. He has also created outstanding architectural monumental sculptures for interior and exterior settings.

Click to View Slide Show of Bremers' Travels, Works, and Techniques

In many non-Western cultures, it is customary to perform small daily rituals to pay homage to nature, ensure good harvests, propitiate the weather gods, pacify the ocean or give thanks to Mother Earth through music and dance. In the Western world, it would appear that our sense of intimacy with nature and wonder at its beauty is being submerged amid mounting anxiety about global warming and the dramatic impact of climate change.

We see the natural world as something separate from ourselves, exploit its gifts without restraint for economic gain, and by doing so turn it from an age-old friend into a hostile force. We show little trace of gratitude and seem to forget that we are ourselves merely part of nature.

I can only say that, for me, the overwhelming emotion I felt when a mother whale with her calf swam alongside our boat and looked me long and hard in the eye was a life-changing experience. As was my sense of insignificance in the face of the savage energy of the oceans and of delight at the sight of yet another majestic sunrise over a landscape of drifting icebergs, the Creators own magnificent sculpture park.

How can I express my gratitude for this inexhaustible source of inspiration other than by trying to depict the awesome power and majesty of nature in my sculpture? Not aiming to imitate or equal it, but simply to express my sense of wonder as a human being and an artist.

Recently I have been working on a new body of work called The Inward Journey. The sculptures put into form the process of change that one experiences by traveling. When we travel to other countries and cultures not only our outer world changes but so does our inner world and the way we perceive our planet and fellow beings. Even though this is a very personal process I have found that many of my experiences, thoughts, and dreams are shared with fellow travelers. The objects pay tribute to mankind and its seamlessly never-ending journey to a deeper understanding of oneself and each other. Seeking a harmonious and purposeful life on our planet.

Vibrations Series

Everything that holds energy is in flux, the universe, the sea, sounds, the pulsing of blood in our veins. Whether hertz, joule, pascal, or watt, they are all energy denominations. Vibrations can be slow, as currents in water and wind, or fast like light or high pitch sound. We may not always see energy or vibrations, some are invisible to our naked eye, but we know how to use them for light, heat, movement, and pressure. If energies/vibrations collide, they can grow and become much stronger, if they are opposite, they can eradicate each other or be balanced. We sense vibrations and energy in our self. When we feel tired, we feel without energy. When we are excited, we feel energized. Often energy goes hand in hand with emotions and or feelings.

For humans, energy can be a sense of wellbeing. It can attract, be attractive, and be shared. But too much energy can be frightening, destructive, and violent. Low energy can create depression and a feeling of physical depletion. Through medication, dance, sports, and work we try to influence our need to control our energy, to build it up as well as calm it down. We strive for balance, not too much to be stressful or too little to feel lifeless. Our vibrational or energetic body can be "up" or "down" and be productive or dysfunctional.

Making forms that make energy visible in static sculpture, I use the symbolism of waves in lines and volumes, regular or irregular, enhancing, or disturbing, growing or calming, interfering or meditative and soothing. The direction is often linear but can change. Lines can interact and visually disturb. By using the materiality of structure, the movement can be regular or shattered. Colors are soothing or energizing. Clarity and opaqueness question the viewer's emotional senses. The transparent glass allows the wanes to be inspected from inside.

For me, these sculptures are a scale of emotional and spiritual energy. They are free to be interpreted, to be perceived as mirrors of our feelings, stages of or vibrational being, and energetic well-being.

- Peter Bremers