Art2Muse

Artworks available to view in Sydney

Regeneration - A Reconfigured Perspective

These panels were created to illustrate the eternal cycles of nature – birth, destruction and rebirth. They represent the ever renewing and ever changing character of natural phenomena. Nature creates and destroys and then again brings forth new life.

These panels were initially produced as complete works of art, each one in a solid piece, made from many layers and colours of glass, with some glass colours created by hand to give a unique look. They represent nature in its forms of bushfire, rainforest, coral coast, sky and mountains. The artworks were then dismantled with a diamond saw, shaped into new pieces and reassembled, creating a new image, a new life and a new form, which communicates a story, each in a different way.

The scroll was the original means of communication. These scroll platters were chosen as an alternative approach to recounting the story.

• Fury

The raging inferno of a bushfire brings destruction to all in its path. At the same time it creates conditions for new life. The seeds of the banksia would never germinate if the mother plant were not seared by flames. This panel illustrates the heat of the fire, the red glow of the embers and the tangled, burnt branches.

• The Burgeoning Reef

Sunshine feeds millions of tiny polyps along the warm northern coast, forming protective reefs of coral. The sky is seen though the bubbles of water, colourful fish swim among the seagrasses waving in the current and tendrils of seaweed curl around the coral - life and movement abound.

• The Spirit of the Rainforest

This panel illustrates the rich dark floor of the forest fall, where fallen leaves decompose, fertilising the earth. A hot blue sky shines through the canopy, beckoning the verdant tendrils of climbing vines and twisted roots.

• The Sky has a Thousand Eyes

This panel presents a complex view of the sky, as reflected in the sea - the deep purples of the sky just before dark, the sparkle of the stars, the velvety black of midnight and streaks of falling stars.

• White Reverie (or the Slumbering Forest)

The snow laden trees of the mountains allow the warm rays of sunshine to reflect an interplay of snow and trees. The panorama of pristine white is interrupted by a lacework of brown, sleeping branches.

My fascination with glass has always been compelling. I find its apparent fragility and paradoxically, its great strength, extremely appealing. My first works in glass focussed on the visual impact of colour and light, with the use of vibrant colour and strong graphic shapes, which are reminiscent of my training as a graphic designer. I continue to utilise my graphic experience when designing for glass. My work takes inspiration from nature and the unique Australian panorama. I have been using new techniques to emphasise the ever changing and yet perennial nature of our unique Australian landscape.

In my latest body of work I have created increasingly intricate pieces, reminiscent of the complexities of nature. Combinations of complementing colours create living and continuously changing characteristics, which are inherent to all living things.
-Dagmar Ackerman

Dagmar Ackerman was born in Czechoslovakia and migrated to Australia in 1954. In 1981 she established TCG Graphic Design, one of Sydney's premier graphic design consultancies. It was a successful studio, producing high-end corporate communications for large organisations. In 1997 Dagmar enrolled in a short glass course at Sydney College of the Arts. Before its completion she knew this was to be her chosen medium. Since then, Dagmar has attended numerous courses, developing her skills and experimenting with various techniques.

Dagmar established a glass studio in Rozelle, NSW in March 1999 and achieved Craft Mark Accreditation in early 2000. Since January 2002, she has been working as a full time glass artist, producing commercial and artistic glass. In late 2006 she successfully exhibited in the USA in galleries in Wisconsin and San Francisco. She is currently exhibiting in Boston and Park City (Utah). In addition, negotiations are in progress with a number of USA and Canadian galleries to stage exhibitions and represent her work.

Selected Exhibitions

June 2008 Quatre Temps Depot Gallery, Waterloo, NSW group show)
January 2008 Open Slather Ausglass members exhibition, Canberra, ACT
November 2007 Fifty by Fifty 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle (group show)
May 2007 Variegation Veronica George Gallery, Armadale, Melbourne, Vic
December 2006 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle (group show)
September 2006 Alexander Street Gallery, San Francisco, USA
September 2006 20th Anniversary Invitational Exhibition,Red Hill Gallery Brisbane
August 2006 Art Gallery Collections, Surfers Paradise, Queensland
August 2006 Monfort's Fine Art Gallery, Racine, WI, USA
January 2006 Embrace (Group show) Soda Gallery Avalon, NSW
October 2005 The Festive Table (Group show) Soda Gallery Avalon, NSW
September 2005 Juxtapositions Veronica George Glass Gallery Armadale,Melb
August 2005 Elements (Group Show) 1000C - Avalon, NSW
May 2005 Greenhill Galleries, Adelaide
May 2005 Ausglass Members Show, Adelaide
April 2005 Material Instincts (juried Ausglass Show) Manly Art Gallery, NSW
April 2005 Transition (Solo Show) 1000C - Avalon, NSW
January 2005 Coastline (Group Show) 1000C - Avalon, NSW
December 2004 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle (group show)
April 2004 Soho Galleries - Sydney
November 2003 Kaleidescope of Colour (Group Show) 1000C - Avalon
August 2003 Singapore Gifts & Premiums Show
June 2003 Sitting Duck Group Show 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle
January 2003 Ausglass Members Show, Fremantle, Tasmania
December 2002 Opening Exhibition (Group Show) 1000C - Avalon
December 2002 Glass by Dagmar Ackerman Studio - Edgecliff
September 2002 Gift Fair Darling Harbour
December 2001 Glass by Dagmar Ackerman Studio - Edgecliff
November 2000 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle (solo))
November 2000 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle (group)
June 2000 Contemporary Craft Expo
January 2000 Ausglass members Show, Melbourne
December 1999 1+2 Artist Studios - Rozelle (group)
December 1998 Hughenden Hotel - Woollahra (solo)

Affiliations

Ausglass
GAS

Competitions

January 2000 Third place winner in Australia-wide Bullseye Glass competition

Commissions considered