Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 36
Occupation: Artist and designer.
Instagram: @johnthogan
Hometown: Toledo, OH.
Studio location: Seattle.
Describe what you make: I work with glass to make objects that investigate the nature of light and color.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: I’m pretty sure that’s for others to discuss or decide. For me, an early piece called k6 was a turning point in discovering my own language and approach with glass and as a creative.
Describe the problem your work solves: The connection and disconnection between energy and mood can be experienced when glass bends light and projects color.
Describe the project you are working on now: “Ultraviolet” is a body of work I made while beginning to investigate a non-visible spectrum of light. UV light is an invisible radioactive energy that causes the body to produce Vitamin D, which is essential for life. Some of this work involves the integration of uranium infused glass, which floreses when in the presence of UV light making the invisible visible. Light, like water or heat, is something both essential and fundamentally powerful. “Ultraviolet” is a solo exhibition on view now at The Future Perfect’s San Francisco gallery.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I’m working with architect James Cheng, landscape architects PFS, and developer Ian Gillespie at Westbank on a project in Seattle called First Light. It’s my first project of this scale working with glass in a number of ways mixing architectural applications and sculpture throughout the building. The primary piece is a glass veil over the first six floors of the building, consisting of more than 16,000 optical lenses meant to resemble a piece of silk draped over the podium of the tower.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: I listen to music most of the day. I love techno and house music.
What you do when you’re not working: I like to spend time in the mountains and in the water with my friends. Most recently, I’ve been chasing around my new puppy, Bird.
Sources of creative envy: Ferran Adrià, Agnes Martin, Buckminster Fuller, Claude Monet, Donato Dozzy, Erik Satie.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Health.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise.
Remember or forget? I wish I could remember more.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens
Dark or light? Light!
