John Kiley

John Kiley (American, born 1973), Squeezed Precarious Overlay, 2011, blown and cold-worked glass. Gift of David Kaplan and Glenn Ostergaard, 2019.112.

A native of Seattle, John Kiley began blowing glass in 1992 at the age of nineteen. He studied glass blowing at The Pilchuck Glass School, Pratt Fine Arts Center, and Penland School of Crafts.

Kiley’s spherical glass sculptures offer a balancing act of form and color; an exploration of internal form; a study of shadow, reflection, and light; and a metaphor for relationships. He strives to create objects that push the glass material beyond its simple inherent beauty. An opening allows the viewer to peer through the form to see where the distinct colored sections are fused together to become one form.