Tim Rawlinson
Tim Rawlinson
My fascination with the way light passes through glass informs my work. I exploit transparency, as it’s an essential and primary quality, manipulating and distorting both colour and form to challenge the viewer’s perceptions.
Light excites glass. It transfers an energy which is absorbed by the material and is projected out onto its surroundings. This transforms their environment to create an architecture of light.
Light occupies the space, and the viewer is challenged to have an awareness and observation of that experience. The direct engagement with the work can make you contemplate the nature of light itself.
One of humanity’s tendencies is to attempt to give order and form where there is none. For instance, how randomly arranged stars are organised into constellations, or how we perceive shapes in the constantly shifting cloud formations. This desire to give form to chaos is an expression of our imagination. My work invites the viewer to look beyond what is apparent and to search for the unknown.
Tim Rawlinson was born in Bristol in 1985 and studied ceramics and glass at Bucks New University, where he graduated in 2011. That same year, he presented his degree work at New Designers in London, where he met Peter Layton. After being invited to complete work experience at London Glassblowing, he went on to join the team.
Since 2012, Rawlinson’s work has been regularly featured at London Glassblowing, including the solo exhibition Kumano Kudo in 2018. His work has also been shown at Collect each year since 2015.
Through sculptural glass pieces that are cut and polished, Rawlinson has developed a distinct visual approach centered on the relationship between light and material. His work has been recognized through inclusion in major European exhibitions, including the Coburg Glass Prize in Germany in 2014 and the International Glass Prize at GlazenHuis in Belgium in 2015.
