Hans Godo Frabel
Encyclopedia
Lampworking
Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking, as the modern practice no longer...
glass blower
Glassblowing
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...
, now living and working in the USA.
Biography
Hans Godo Frabel is one of the very first lampwork glass artists in the world. He turned the technique of "working at the lamp" to an art form back in 1968, when he opened the Frabel Studio in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. At that time crystal glass was not considered a serious art medium and few artists were utilizing the beauty and diversity of glass to create unique art pieces.
Frabel was the third child in a family with five children. The tumultuous political climate after World War II necessitated a family migration to West Germany. After living in several different cities, Frabel began to look at glass as a means to a career at the age of 15. He obtained a traineeship as a scientific glassblower at the prestigious Jena Glaswerke
Schott Glass
SCHOTT AG is a German manufacturer of high-quality industrial glass products, its main markets are household appliances, pharmaceutical industries, solar energy, electronics, optics as well as automotive...
in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, West Germany, and earned the degree of journeyman in 1959.
In 1965 he came to the United States and settled in Atlanta. There he obtained a position at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in their scientific glass blowing laboratory. During this time he continued his studies of glass as an art form at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and Georgia State.
While working at Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, Frabel created crystal glass sculptures as gifts for friends, partners and business associates, inspiring him to become a full-time artist.
Over the next 40 years he followed the European tradition of apprentice and master. As the master artist he passed his skills on to a handpicked group of apprentices and associates, who after many years of training, became master artists in their own right.
"Although Frabel’s art received much attention in the Atlanta area, his international breakthrough as a glass artist was not recognized until 1978 when his pop art sculpture “Hammer and Nails” was utilized as the main (feature) piece of the New Glass Art Exhibition" For the next few years the exhibition toured the world visiting museums in major cities. The Hammer and Nails can now be found in the permanent collection of the National Building Museum in Washington D.C.
Frabel’s work embodies a host of mixed expressions, which find their voice in the enormous diversity of his art. His rapid exhaustion of any given subject matter and his sudden interest in a new field have given him the reputation of impetuosity in the field of torch-worked glass art. His unusual precision at the torch, developed through the rigor of the master craftsman system of Germany, has earned him the nickname "Machine Hands."
Over the years Frabel’s reputation as a master in glass art has spread worldwide beyond the glass community. "Frabel art pieces can be found in public and private collections in over 80 countries worldwide." Some famous collectors of Frabel glass art include Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, current and former heads of governments such as Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
as well as museums in London, Paris, Tokyo, Dresden, Valencia, Corning, San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C.
"Until the mid nineties the Frabel Studio created art pieces almost exclusively in clear borosilicate – a strong, brilliant crystal that is resistant to scratches and which if broken can usually be restored without a trace of damage." In the early 1990s the Frabel Studio explored the use of color which has been part of its art collection ever since. "Other techniques the Studio employs are sandblasting and painting. Sandblasting gives the sculpture a frosted, highlighted appearance."
External links
- Hans Godo Frabel's website
- Hans Godo Frabel's Educational and Charitable Foundation
- Frabel Glass Art Studio
- Hans Godo Frabel's profile on myglassart.org