by ArchitectureWeek

While most glass artists treat their medium with care, one of them deliberately shatters it. Cyprus-born, London-based Yorgos Papadopoulos has developed an edgy art form that is attracting international attention. His work exploits the crystalline forms of broken glass and mixes in bold combinations of color to create provocative art panels.

Papadopoulos treats his medium with what he calls a "healthy disrespect." His technique involves texturing, breaking, coloring, then relaminating sheets of industrial glass to create artwork that looks fragile but is actually extremely durable. It has been exhibited throughout Europe and is increasingly commissioned for architectural installations.

He says his works "express the in-built paradoxes of glass: that it is commonplace and extraordinary, visible and invisible, dangerous and strong." He has broken glass with hammers, bricks, bullets, and electrical currents. He has even worked on glass that had been broken using a bag full of lead shot intended to replicate the impact of a human body running into a standard window.   >>>

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"Barrida," by glass artist Yorgos Papadopoulos, forms the storefront of the Vima Dance Studio in San Francisco. Photo: Yorgos Studio "Salad Days," installed in the Pied à Terre restaurant, London. Photo: Yorgos Studio   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.