Biography
Dominic is a glass blower and writer. His work is influenced by his observations of the everyday world, nature, music, and the physical process of glass making. His work frequently integrates artistic forms developed in glass with the written and spoken word.
Dominic gained practical experience as a glassblower with Steven Newell and Catherine Hough (Newell Glass and Victoria Glass) as well as for Iestyn Davies at Blowzone. He realised his ambition for more formal education with the completion of his Master of Design at the Edinburgh College of Art in 2000.
2001 took Dominic back to London where he once again worked with Steven Newell in his Finsbury Park studio. 2003 saw him join the artists in residence team at The World of Glass, St. Helens, where he participated in many diverse projects and staged an event called “The Voice Versus the Wineglass” where it was (sadly) proved once and for all that a human voice cannot shatter a wineglass. Dominic has served as a committee member of Cohesion: The North East Glass Cluster, and edited the Contemporary Glass Society newsletter for three years. In 2002 he created “Ten Green Bottles”, an exhibition based on one of his short stories; this used drawings by children as the basis for ten green bottles made by ten of Britain’s leading glass artists. He followed this in 2003 with “Haiku and Glass” in which he paired eleven glass artists with eleven members of the British Haiku Society.
2006 once again saw Dominic on the move. This time halfway across the world to work with renowned Australian glass artist B. Jane Cowie in Singapore. Since arriving in East Asia he has travelled extensively, visiting India, China, Japan and Australia. He completed his largest ever commission in 2007 for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses and continues to write and develop projects. 2008 promises to be an eventful year. In January he joined a partnership with B. Jane Cowie and B. Gopinath an artist from Bangalore, India. Using Singapore as a base they will pursue art projects in East Asia and their respective home countries.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2008
Fragments Forth Gallery Pagoda Street, Singapore, May 2008
2007
Contract with Parfum Givenchy: personalised perfume bottles on Chinese New Year/Valentine’s day promotional road shows, Singapore, February 2007
6 engraved stories on plates for Zest Gallery, London, 2007
My secret garden 3 engraved glass window panes for Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses, Birmingham, 2007
2006
Dished Up Zest Contemporary Glass Gallery, Roxby Place, London, 2006
British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Mill, Stourbridge, 2006
Featured artist at The Strathearn Gallery, Crieff, March 2006
2005
Chelsea Crafts Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London, October 2005
Scottish Glass Society Show, The Strathearn Gallery, Crieff, August 2005
Phoenix Rising Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool, August 2005
Art in Action Waterperry House, Oxford, July 2005
21st Century Glass (Curated By Prof. Dan Klein) Daniel Katz Gallery, London
British Glass at Glass Inspiration Switzerland, November 2004–January 2005
2004
Chelsea Crafts Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London, October 2004
British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Mill, Stourbridge, 26 August–18 September 2004
Haiku and Glass A series of collaborations between eleven glass artists and eleven poets, The Customs House, South Shields, April–May 2004
Charity auction in aid of POD, The Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, 4 March 2004
The World of Glass, St Helens, January–February 2004
2003
The Glass Art Gallery, London, October–December 2003
The Bowes Museum Co., Durham, June–September 2003
2002
9 By 9. An Exhibition of Contemporary Glass The Glass Art Gallery, 7 The Leather Market, Weston Street, London, 24 May–21 June 2002
Ten Green Bottles Work by ten glass blowers, based on a story by Dominic Fondé and drawings by primary school children. Curated by Dominic Fondé. The Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, 4 March–12 May 2002
The National Glass Centre, Sunderland, August–September 2002
The World of Glass, St Helens, 1–31 October 2002
The Edinburgh College of Art, 16–19 November 2002
