Norwood Viviano
Born 1972, Royal Oak, Michigan; lives in Plainwell, Michigan
Global Cities, 2015-2016; blown glass, vinyl cut drawings, stainless steel cable, and MDF plinth; dimensions variable; Collection: Corning Museum of Glass
In hand blown glass forms and vinyl drawings, Norwood Viviano’s Global Cities visualizes the dramatic population trends of thirty-two distinct international cities. The installation, with the glass objects suspended gracefully from the ceiling, hover above a world map and against a backdrop of vinyl graphics on the wall. The glass sculptures reference population data and how it changes over time, as seen in the size, color, and form of each object. The two-dimensional representations of these unique shapes make up the wall graphics, transcribing the abstract form into actual city names and population numbers.
Taken as a whole, the installation indicates trends and the effect of major global events—World Wars, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire—and more systemic occurrences such as the impact of colonialism.
Other projects by Viviano visualize data about rising water levels and the impact of mining, in equally elegant and minimal installations.
Viviano is an associate professor and sculpture program coordinator at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He earned a BFA in sculpture and glass from Alfred University, New York and an MFA in sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In his March 2012 Residency at The Studio, Viviano created urban and industrial landscapes out of kiln-cast glass as an extension of his previous installations. Viviano’s recent exhibitions include Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia; Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, Washington DC; and the Venice Biennale. Public collections include The Corning Museum of Glass, New York; Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas; DeYoung Museum, San Francisco, California; and the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky. Viviano was selected as one of the 100 artists included in New Glass Now, a global survey of contemporary glass at The Corning Museum of Glass that opened in May 2019.
