Wes Hunting

I began my glass career in 1976, when I began studying fine art at Kent State University in my home state of Ohio. Though my initial studies were in painting and art history, I happened to discover that Kent State was home to one of only a handful of educational institutions in the U.S. that had a functioning glass program. I then met the director of the glass program, Henry Halem, whom I studied under during my years at Kent. Having acquired the skills and drive to work with glass, I opened my first studio in Chicago in 1981.

Through most of the 80s, I worked tirelessly to develop my work. It as a pinnacle time for me. I began working closely with fine art galleries, attending craft shows, and developing relationships with my fellow glass contemporaries.

In 1987, I moved my studio to Princeton, Wisconsin. I felt that the busy metropolitan life style was becoming a bit of a distraction to my work. Along with the birth of my son, Wesley Justin, I knew that a more rural setting would be for the best. 

It was here that I began to develop my signature work, the “Colorfield” series. The “Colorfield” work, for me, has always been about the union of fine craft and abstract expressionism. I am fascinated with taking traditional elements, and pushing them past their intended use. This is evident in my use of millefiori, and Italian canework. For hundreds of years, these classic venetian elements have been used to create complex symmetrical patterns, and surface décor. I try to view the surface of a vessel as an abstract painter would view a canvas, and use these elements to create organic imagery. I feel my work is at its best, when a viewer can look at the piece for weeks, and discover intriguing details that they had not noticed before.

Website: weshuntingglass.com

Available Works