BROOKLYN, NY — In issue #160, Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly features Dan Dailey in “Sketches in Silica,” an artist profile and in-depth interview by Farah Rose Smith.
Exploring the role of drawing in Dailey's approach to portraying humanity in sculpture, Smith cites Carolyn Needell, Curator of Glass at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk VA, who organized the exhibition “Dan Dailey: Charachter Sketch" there in February.
Beaujolais 1984. Vitrolite, blown glass, gold-plated brass, aluminum. 26 x 15"
“The work is rarely repetitive and it constantly presents a fresh take on the world around us.”
Viva 2005 ink drawing.
“At once worldly and playful, unbound by the limitations of realism, Dailey’s glassworks invite us back to a familiar realm— especially now, as we all face sharply curtailed interactions during a time of pandemic and social distancing. ”
Five Wild Dogs 1998. Blown glass, bronze and gold-plated bronze. 25½ x 17 x 17”
Smith's interview covers topics of character as subject, Dailey’s history, and his recent exhibition at the Chrysler Museum of Art. Following is an excerpt, or read Dailey’s entire interview in the Fall 2020 Issue of Glass Quarterly.
GLASS: I find the relationship between artists and their subjects very interesting. Can you talk a bit about how you choose who to study as a character? Is there a greater emphasis on the visual appearance of a person, or their personality?
DAILEY: I don’t go after it. It’s there to be discovered. It comes down to being observant. There was a period when I traveled often to eastern France to work at the Daum glass factory. I would always be sure to stop in Paris. I would walk around by myself, sit in cafés, observe people. Even the New York subway, looking at faces and body language, the attitude people have towards dress, the way they seem to carry themselves by nature, the way they dress themselves. I don’t go with a particular thing. I’m not searching. Some people have told me that my observations are cynical because I like to make fun of things, but it is done with a sympathetic attitude. I try not to do something like that at someone’s expense. The drawings are not of a specific person either ... they are character types, an iconography of human types and my own symbology.
GLASS: Can you talk a bit about your interest in character as a subject and the significance of human nature and characterization in your work?
DAILEY: Being an observer of human nature, it’s something that came along early. I remember once when I was going from grade school into junior high school, I went to an interview at school and a lady had a book with 10 photographs of people in it. She asked me to tell her who I would sit next to on the bus. They were black-and- white photos, perhaps for some psychological test. It was indicative of the way I see things. Everyone chooses who they sit near. As a child I took three buses a day to get to school in Philadelphia. I had lots of conversations, even as a kid. I think that’s what it’s about. You are either interested in people and like to engage, or you don’t.
UrbanGlass is a Brooklyn, New York based nonprofit organization established in 1977. It fosters experimentation and advances the use and critical understanding of glass as a creative medium. Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly has provided a critical context to the most important artwork the medium of glass for more than 40 years.
