Material Hybrid

Artist Suzan Etkin has been working with glass since 1993 when she was invited to design chandeliers for master glass blowers in Murano. At her New York studio, Suzan Etkin Enterprises, she combines precious metals with glass to create exotic material hybrids. Exemplifying the organic and magical qualities of hand blown glass sculpture, Suzan regularly designs custom glass and metal features with architects and interior designers.

Founded in 2001, Suzan’s current studio was originally created to be used as an extension of her conceptual sculptural glass artwork, which has been shown at numerous museums and international galleries. At the time of her first sculptural commissions, she began designing custom glass fabrications with architects and interior designers, providing designers with a venue to incorporate hand-blown glass into their designs and to expand the capabilities of hand made glass into unimagined applications. Suzan’s experiments with metal and glass have led to a unique material that adds a luxurious, fascinating and beautiful element to any interior.

Suzan can combine silver, gold, aluminum, steel and copper with hand blown glass to achieve elegant results. Metals are incorporated in many forms, including liquefied, flake, leaf, polished plate, and the hybrid can be used for unlimited structural assemblies.

For a silver effect, Suzan creates ‘mercury glass’, hand-blown pieces with thick undulating walls and an internal film of pure silver. The thick walled design gives the glass an appearance of liquid metal, transforming 19th century technology into a contemporary 21st century architectural material with unmatched light reflection and refractive properties. For golden glass, 24K gold is fused to the glass in a molten state and then allowed to cool, before being re-covered with another layer of glass, embedding the gold internally, ultimately producing an internal golden glow.

Designing and testing each project from initial concept to final installation, Suzan also creates custom pieces that can be internally coated with clear, flexible, shatterproof adhesive resins or high-density structural foams. Multiple glass elements can assume structural properties when reinforced with an internal metal framework. Structural frames can be designed to accommodate glass using many methods, including Arakawa suspension cable systems and articulated metal chains. Suzan’s past architectural installations include structural suspension assemblies, high strength cladding applications, custom glass block units and elaborate structural steel rod web assemblies. These unique collaborative ventures require complex design explorations and engineering. 

With an invaluable network of international glass blowers, metal fabricators, structural engineers and artisans giving the studio the expertise required to work on any project, Suzan’s work could be applied to a superyacht project to stunning effect. The word ‘unique’ is often overused in the world of design, but this glass and metal hybrid material really is something special that has almost unlimited potential applications.

For more on metal, look out for the next issue of SuperyachtDesign, Q7, which is out next month. To subscribe and receive a copy, click here.

Related Links:
Suzan Etkin Enterprises - company profile | company website

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