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News

The Narcissistic Shell

By Sydney Cash, Emerald Mountain 3

From "Diamond Dust" a private web magazine of the Ridhwan School.

Shell 15–18 oil based paint on paper

Shell 19–22 oil based paint on paper

 

Cash's painting is now on the cover of the December issue of Chronogram magazine. The article inside discusses his work and the show at Van Brunt Gallery in December.

December 5, 2009, an exhibition of the recent paintings will open at the Van Brunt Gallery in Beacon, New York.

68 Mountain Rest Road New Paltz, NY 12561
info@UnisonArts.org — 845-255-1559 Office Hours: 10am-5pm, Tues–Fri

SENSING LIGHT

A Workshop with Sydney Cash

Saturday • September 26 • 9am-12:30pm at Unison Theater
$45 members, $50 non-members

For over 30 years, sculptor Sydney Cash has experimented with light to illuminate his glass sculptures. At times the light was as important as the glass. In his most recent body of work, the glass is completely in the service of light, reflection and shadow.

In this workshop Cash will share his understanding, theoretical, empirical, and spiritual--about light. You’ll learn how light effects the body and be guided through awareness practices that will heighten your sensing and seeing of light.

We will play with light: examining different types of bulbs, and specialized lighting equipment, also exploring color, reflection, shadow and illumination.

Learn how light is being used in the world of art and architecture.

Cash will also show and explain developments in his past work that guided his interest in light.

Sydney Cash has received fellowships from the NEA and the NYFTA. His commissions include those from the NYC MTA and MoMA. He has taught at New Jersey City University and Pratt Institute. He is a Buddhist and a student of the Diamond Approach (A. H. Almaas) Work.

Recent Shows

Sydney Cash exhibited his glass jewelry at the American Craft Council's San Francisco Craft Show – August 14, 15, and 16, 2009.

Sydney Cash exhibited his jewelry at the American Craft Council's Baltimore Show – February 27 to March 1, 2009.

Five Piece Pendant

Sydney Cash showed his new jewelry at the American Craft Council's San Francisco Craft Show at Fort Mason, in August, 2008.

Brooch

Cash exhibited his light sculptures at The International Contemporary Furniture Fair in May 2008 at the Jacob Javit's Center in New York City booth #408.

Award

At the 2007 WASHINGTON DC CRAFT SHOW, Cash received the COLLECTOR'S AWARD for his jewelry and booth presentation.

This award included a big green prize ribbon and a check for $800. The award was also featured in the sign-age at the show.

Recent Light installation in a stairwell

Sydney Cash recently put one of his unique Light Installations in the top corner of a stairwell in a duplex loft in Brooklyn, NY. The piece is 78" tall.

This installation is featured in the on the web site
MoCo Loco - Modern contemporary design & architecture, and also in the October issue of the Irish magazine PLAN The Art of Architecture and Design.

This same installation has been chosen by Tina Oldknow, curator for contemporary glass for The Corning Museum of Glass, to be published in her “Juror’s Choice” section in the New Glass Review 28. The New Glass Review is a selection based upon excellence, of the 100 most interesting new works in glass, for that year.

Article in Robb Report Luxury Home Summer 2006

Glass artist Sydney Cash
sculpts the light fantastic

By Jorge Arrango

“One day, when I was doing something else in the studio, I noticed the way light was reflected on the wall,” says Sydney Cash. “And suddenly I saw light as an object. I realized it was a form I could manipulate.”

It’s not that Cash had never noticed light before. A well-known artist whose primary material is most often glass, light has always played an integral part in his work. The way Cash treats the surface of glass (polishing or etching it, for example), and the way he layers, cuts, colors, fuses or slumps it, affects the way light moves through and around each piece, alternately diffusing, reflecting, dulling or enhancing its luminosity. But what happened in that instant—at least where the subsequent light sculptures are concerned (he continues to work in other mediums)—was that light shifted from supporting cast to central player. “I realized I could fabricate materials so that the light itself had shape,” explains the artist.

So Cash began experimenting with fusing together clear and mirrored glass, cutting it in various shapes, attaching it to the wall and, finally, illuminating it in ways that created complex patterns and forms on the wall. Light hitting the mirrored areas reflects upward or downward, while light encountering clear sections passes through. The patterns are puzzled out using computer software, but the final piece—which can cost between $3,000 and 12,000—requires Cash’s careful fine-tuning. “With the light, the angle of attack is really important,” says the artist. “The sculptures themselves change as the placement of light changes.” There is also the question of directing the beams of light, controlling how narrowly or widely they cast their glow. Cash employs a variety of techniques to achieve the desired effects, sometimes using halogen light, other times theater lighting equipment adapted to his needs. Often, Cash also traces the outline of the light sculpture on the wall, the lines becoming ghosts of his living sculptural medium when lights are turned off.

“My aesthetic has always had a technical quality to it,” admits the upstate New York-based Cash. “But it’s really about materials. My approach is not theoretical. I’m an empirical inventor; I risk making crazy, stupid mistakes, but I have an eye for noticing when something works and jumping on it.”