To celebrate the inauguration of US President Joseph R. Biden Jr and Vice President Kamala Harris, women glass artists in collaboration with the Corning Museum of Glass in New York have created an homage to Harris, who has made history as the first woman, Black and South-Asian US to serve in the country's second highest elected post.
In a video shared with The Art Newspaper, the artists Helen Tegeler, Catherine Ayers and Christa Westbrook can be seen creating the work Shattering the Glass Ceiling (2020) using the broken pieces of a safety glass sheet that is dropped from the ceiling in the museum’s hot shop. The resulting sculpture, which features the VP’s name, offers a “compelling visual representation” of the barriers that have been broken by Harris's appointment, says Karol Wight, the president and executive director of the museum.
“From the broken shards, our team of women glassmakers create something new, symbolising the historic moment that has arrived,” Wight says. “The video celebrates the important work of generations of women who have paved the way for us to be able to say: Congratulations Madam Vice President.”