New Glass Review 44 Pop-up Installation
Presented by Corning Museum of Glass
At the 2025 Seattle Art Fair, the Corning Museum of Glass is pleased to be presenting a regional “pop-up” installation of a contemporary glass artist who was represented in the recent publication New Glass Review 44. New Glass Review is an annual CMoG exhibition-in-print that documents the innovation and dexterity of artists, designers, and architects around the world working with the material of glass. Tami Landis, Curator of Postwar and Contemporary Glass, has invited Seattle based sculptor Kelsey Fernkopf to compose Constellation 3, a large-scale neon installation, for this year’s pop-up at the fair. Fernkopf’s practice is compelling as it transforms the luminous medium away from its traditional function and into an abstract, free-standing design. The installation will include various colors and shapes that will overlap and intersect in space, culminating in an immersive display. Just as the publication is not comprehensive of the field, this too is just a glimpse into the vast network of artists working in glass in the Pacific Northwest.
Artist Bio
Kelsey Fernkopf is master neon glass bender, craftsperson and educator with 40 years of experience making neon tubes. In 2018 Kelsey cofounded a neon art school and began using neon as his primary artistic medium. Crafting sculptural lamps from neon glass tubing, he creates large scale neon light installations in unexpected urban and natural landscapes. Kelsey exhibits nationally and has created installations for Pilchuck Glass School, SeaTac International Airport , and Refract / The Seattle Glass Experience. His work has recently featured in Corning Museum of Glass: New Glass Review, issues 43 and 44, as well as Urban Glass Quarterly and Seattle’s Public Dispay Art magazine.
Artist Statement
I create light art sculptures from neon glass tubing and noble gas. Contrasting the fragility of glass with bold design, I construct luminous neon tubes of extraordinary length and size, challenging the boundaries of the medium. From the white box of gallery walls to urban and natural landscapes, I transport my work to unexpected settings, studying the visual effects of light, line, color, and form interacting with space in a chosen environment.
My light art installations are site-specific and temporal, documented through photography, video, and digital media. Whether as a singular element or large installation, I let the medium serve as the message. Framing space in light, my neon forms alter perception and create distinct visual worlds of their own, offering new perceptions and fresh perspectives on our usual surroundings.
About Corning Museum of Glass
Established in 1951 by Corning Glass Works (now Corning Incorporated) as a gift to the nation for the company’s 100th anniversary, the Corning Museum of Glass is a not-for-profit museum dedicated to exploring a single material: glass. Annually welcoming over 300,000 visitors from around the world, the Museum’s campus, in Corning, NY, is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of glass, the world’s foremost library on glass, and one of the top glassworking schools in the world. Learn more at https://home.cmog.org/ .