Home-grown artistry

Originally published: Sept. 23, 2010
Publication: THE GLOBE

An eight-foot sunflower stands in the corner of the room, catching one's eye as the light hits its bright yellow glass petals made by artist Gary Guydosh.

The 709 Penn Gallery in Pittsburgh's Cultural District  at the intersection of Penn and 7thAve. has the pink "Water Lily" standing opposite, a five-and-a-half feet tall blown glass piece.

In the center is a garden of glass, mushrooms and vibrant flowers that creates the backdrop for "Leggy Birds" on steel legs, nestled among the plants.

These pieces are among over 20 nature-inspired, blown glass works by Guydosh being shown at the gallery in the "Nature in Glass" exhibit from Oct. 10 until Oct. 24.

"We try to highlight Pittsburgh artists and local artists but it's different in that we try to show diverse work by artists," said Sonja Sweterlitsch, manager of community art for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, as well as the curator for the exhibit. "So this is very different from the show before and the show before that. That way we can kind of highlight the diverse work of artists here so it's not one media."


Guydosh is one of those local artists.

"He and his wife opened the Gallery G Glass on Liberty Avenue years ago," Sweterlitsch said. "It's on its twelfth year. It used to be in the South Side, and he was known as the South Side glass guy. You could kind of wonder in off […] East Carson and see him blowing glass. He always welcomed people into his studio and you could just watch him at work. And […] now he's moved to a bigger space […] in Lawrenceville where he can [also] conduct classes on blowing glass and has much more space to create large works."

Some of his larger works, like "Water Lily," are currently on display at the 709 Penn Gallery. That particular piece is different from his original work.

"He used to do more traditional glass work, [but when] he was in Italy […] he suffered from a heart attack. He decided then and there that he ought to do the things that he dreamed of doing," Sweterlitsch said. "He came back and created this pink lily and other nature-inspired glass pieces that were totally different from the glass ornaments and bowls that he made before, so it was a new life for him, really, with his glass work."
The nature-inspired "Sunflower" is one of the largest works in the "Nature in Glass" exhibit. Like many of tthe pieces on display in the gallery, each petal was made individually and later assembled into the finished piece, complete with the steel root base.

"His interpretation of nature is almost like a wonderland, in a way, because these flowers are so huge," Sweterlitsch said.

"Water Lily" has just as many pieces, including a tiny red frog sitting on the green glass lily pads.
The gallery's central garden is composed of flowers less than eight feet high, but its steel and glass blue, orange and yellow birds have their own stories.

"These glass birds were actually inspired by his wife [who] really likes pink flamingo lawn ornaments, but he doesn't care for them so he made ones that he likes," Sweterlitsch said.

Among the flowers and fish that line the gallery's walls is a piece titled "Odd Man Out." This piece is Guydosh's favorite.

"I kind of made that one for my wife, because my wife is very linear and I am very scattered," Guydosh said. "So that's why it has the three squares that are all lined up and the one square that is out."

The "Odd Man Out" is just one of the pieces in the "Nature in Glass" exhibit. Visitors may notice that the exhibit will grow, however.

"More things will spring to life, so to speak, in here," Sweterlitsch said.

Guydosh said he will be adding at least five or six more pieces. The exhibit can be appreciated as it currently is, as well.

"I am not usually into very much decorative art which this […] very much [is] but the sheer skill that is evident in each of the works," said Fitz Shaw, a 23-year-old from Wilkinsburg.

"The whole thing jumped out at me," said Roxanne Banks-Williams, a 29-year-old from Wilkinsburg. "I was walking to work and happened to be sitting there with nothing to do for the moment, so I said ‘I'm going to take a walk' and I then thought, ‘oh let me stop in there and see what's going on'."
Guydosh's work can be viewed through Oct. 24 during the gallery's regular hours, which are Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5pm. There will be a gallery crawl Oct. 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

"I'm Pittsburgh's best kept secret," Guydosh jokes. "We've been in the city for 12 years and most people don't even know we do it here."

Home-grown artistry