Ben Young，1982年出身在新西兰，现居澳大利亚悉尼，是一位自学成才的玻璃雕刻艺术家。他从小生长在美丽丰饶的新西兰北
岛海湾，当地自然景观地貌---特别是海洋，深深的烙进他的血液中。浪潮的力量与完美在他的玻璃雕塑品中得到充满激情，让人
回味的淋漓尽致体现。他的玻璃作品被多地媒体刊登。而他最初的创作启发是在旅行时发现橱窗由多层玻璃构成。
Raised in Waihi Beach, New Zealand now residing in Sydney, Australia, Ben Young is a self-taught artist who has been making
glass sculpture for over 10 years.
Having spent most of his life living in the beautiful Bay of Plenty (North Island, NZ) it seemed obvious to him to explore the local
landscape and surroundings for early inspiration in his art. The ocean also playing a dominant role in his life being a keen surfer
and boatbuilder by trade, he was inspired to capture the perfection and raw power of the sea and of the perfect wave. Other local
landscapes including the lonely Mount Maunganui and Mayor Island have featured in his uniquely crafted glass sculptures. He
was first inspired while travelling overseas at a young age with his family and seeing a window display made up of layered glass.
层层叠叠的玻璃艺术品中的每一片玻璃都是手工打稿，手工切割和手工制作。不采用高科技工艺却又是心思缜密的规划设计。
Ben Young提到，他在设计之前会花大量时间思考，然后才开始制作和切割。他说“我用二维图形进行草图，心里必须清楚他们
转换成3D的时候是什么样的。在内部不能有直角这样的形状”。
Ben Young的玻璃材料只选择最棒的。作品中，玻璃的颜色与质地的都有各自的微妙区别，因此每件作品都堪称独一无二。
“我喜欢二维变成三维的这个创作过程，如同液体般的玻璃晶莹剔透，光线曼妙。我喜欢用灯光照射它们，看不同的光影变化。”
Ben Young说。
Though overwhelming in their apparent simplicity, what the common eye won’t realise is that each of Young’s sculptures are
hand drawn, hand cut and handcrafted, layer on layer to create the end product. There is no high-tech equipment involved but
the complexity comes from the planning phase, which Young describes as ‘a lot of work’. Internally, he works out what he wants
to make and how he wants it to look, “I do a lot of thinking before I even start to draw or cut”, and he then sketches the concept
by hand, brainstorming the look and feel.
“I work with 2D shapes and have to figure out how to translate that into a 3D finished product. Sometimes my start point
changes dramatically as shapes can be limited – I can’t create any internal right angles – so I have to find a way to layer the
glass to create certain shapes,” said Young.
Only the finest glass and materials are selected to use in his pieces. The texture and colour of the glass is different in every piece
he makes, ensuring one-off and truly unique pieces of artwork. “I love watching the two dimensional shapes evolve into three-
dimensional creations and the different way the light plays inside the glass. I love the liquid qualities the glass brings with it. It
enables me to play with lighting and watch the glass react.”
玻璃是描述Ben Young想法的元素。作品中的光影变迁如同生活的丰富。空间，运动，层次，韵味等都可通过作品进行体现。玻
璃作为一种固体，在Ben Young手中变活仿佛成为天然而有机生命体。
Ben Young最近刚刚搬到悉尼，他计划开始一系列新的作品，旨在将人工城市景观与新南威尔士自然海岸结合。每一层或许是平
常，但是当层层重合，艺术的力量得以体现。每一层都是整体不可或缺的一部分。期待他未来更多的作品。
‘The way I use the glass enables me to portray so many different elements of my conceptual ideas’, he says. ‘Lighting plays a large
part in the presentation of my pieces. When lit from beneath, the light reflects and gives off the illusion of the piece being brought
to life. I hope viewers might imagine the work as something “living” that creates the illusion of space, movement, depth and sense
of spatial being. I like to play with the irony between the glass being a solid material and how I can form such natural and organic
shapes.’
Having moved recently to Sydney, Australia, Young is currently working on a new series of work, ‘Parallels’, inspired by the
juxtaposition of the organic coastal and ocean formations of the NSW coast against the contrast of man-made geometric
cityscapes. In his work, each layer may appear insignificant alone, but his intent is to bring them together to create holistic life
forms much as occurs in the growth rings of a tree, the curling rise of a wave or the strata in a cliff-face. He wants to show that
each layer is an important part of every complete piece.
| 
