Lucio Bubacco Eternal Temptation Series, glass photo: Norbert Heyl Litvak Gallery, Tel Aviv
	Lucio Bubacco Mythology, 2009 glass photo: Norbert Heyl Litvak Gallery, Tel Aviv

Following the spectacular presentation of the Eternal Temptation chandeliers in SOFA CHICAGO 2008 and the premiere of the mythological series, Lucio Bubacco will be back with an encore presentation at SOFA WEST: Santa Fe.
 
This new installation, while obviously inspired by the Eternal Temptation, takes a different perspective. Unlike Eternal Temptation, which was focused on the center piece of the man, his boat and his conflict between good and evil—with its unforgettable scenes and meticulous attention to the details of the literally hundreds of human forms depicted in the story—this most recent installation has taken Bubacco’s works to new heights in three magnificent chandeliers.

Those of you who saw the chandeliers of the Eternal Temptation in Chicago will know how wonderful those pieces are; nevertheless, Bubacco has once again managed to surpass himself and has created these three stunning, new chandeliers. The first using the heavenly theme Paradiso, the second is themed upon the devilish Inferno and the middle piece combines both realms.

The unique watchers and vases that were presented in Chicago have also been developed and have evolved within this new installation, inviting the audience to continue the journey with the artist into his surreal world. The work is for sale as a whole installation or as parts.
 
At SOFA WEST: Sante Fe, Litvak Gallery will also present the next installment of the Mythology Series where a number of new goblets will be for sale. This series was first seen in Chicago where the first eleven goblets were shown. The mythological series is made up of 100 unique individual goblets depicting a variety of different interpretations of mythology.  25 pieces from the total series will be presented to visitors, curators and collectors around the world at SOFA WEST.  Lucio Bubacco is solely represented by the Litvak Gallery, Tel Aviv.   
 

William Morris Hunter, 1988 (Artifact Series #3) photo: Robert Vinnedge Litvak Gallery, Tel Aviv

The gallery will also present key works by master glass artist, Willam Morris. The cycles of nature, the human impulse to conquer and ultimately transcend the physical world, are central themes in William Morris’ seminal early work. Artifact Series #3 (Hunter, 1988), which has only been on public display once in the past 18 years. This magnificent piece will be brought to SOFA WEST by the Litvak Gallery. The piece was made when Morris was in his early thirties and just emerging as a glass artist in his own right after having served for several years as head gaffer for Dale Chihuly. Already, Morris had mastered the demands of working increasingly larger and larger gathers of glass at the end of the blow pipe; by the culmination of the Artifact Series, Morris had pushed far beyond using glass for vessel-making and birthed a number of complex installations and assemblages, arranged from sculptural glass components.  Works from this series appear to be actual repositories of bone fragments and artifacts, unearthed from an archaeological dig. 
           
Artifact Series #3 (Hunter) is an enormous, crystal-clear glass skeleton, more than ten feet in length and suggestive of the mythological Yeti or, at least in scale, of a Pleistocene cave bear.  Within the figure’s abdomen is a gilded spear point, a remnant, supposedly, of the cause of this creature’s demise and a poignant reminder of the figure’s final breath.  Essentially colorless, Hunter glistens with reflected and refracted light; the skeleton nearly and eerily emits an otherworldly glow. Like remains displayed in a natural history museum, Hunter recalls another era, separated from our own epoch by intervals of geologic time, yet it also, literally and metaphorically, echoes something in us, hauntingly familiar. This will most definitely be one of the highlights of SOFA WEST: Sante Fe this year and you will be able to view the piece at the Litvak Gallery booth.