Glass king proclaims: Reuben Saunders Gallery is putting on this year’s best U.S. glass show

A glass show being curated by a studio owner with a royal moniker is bringing the works of some top unconventional glass artists, including winners of the Netflix “Blown Away” reality show, to Wichita’s Reuben Saunders Gallery in June.

“This is going to be, I believe, the best (glass) show in the U.S. for 2024 and it’s great that it’s happening in this area,” said Tyler Kimball, who’s been called the king of the rondels because his Kansas City-based studio, Monarch Glass Studio, is the world’s top producer of the round glass discs.

More than 25 glass artists from across the U.S. and the United Kingdom will have pieces shown — and for sale — in “Warped,” which will have a First Friday opening reception from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on June 7 at the Reuben Saunders Gallery, 3215 E. Douglas. The reception is free and open to the public. The show will run through June 29.

In conjunction with the invitational show, Kimball is moderating a panel discussion from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at the Wichita Art Museum, with exhibiting artists Erica Rosenfeld, Kate Clements, Alison Siegel and Dorie Guthrie. Admission is free.

Kimball is basing his bold proclamation about the show’s caliber because “every single one of these artists is doing things off the grid of what is the norm in glassworks,” he said.

Siegel, for example, does hot blow molding, a newer technique introduced within the past decade or so, “where you blow into a mold and then break off a piece and push it into the mold. … It’s somewhere between casting and blowing and it’s a wild technique. It took somebody being like, ‘let’s try this and see if it works,’” Kimball said.

“That’s what this show is all about, the people who say, ‘I don’t know if this is gonna work and I don’t care but I’m going to try it and see what the limits and boundaries are.’”

Siegel, who now works at Kimball’s studio, and collaborator Pamela Sabrosa draw inspiration from nature, modeling both real and imagined items.

Kimball was excited to talk about Guthrie’s work, too.

“She blows into the mold but she puts enamel paint — in the mold,” Kimball said, emphasizing the last three words. “So the paint adheres to the glass through the mold-blowing process, which is also kind of, just insane, but what she gets from that is completely unique and different.”

Guthrie has taught at the internationally renowned Pilchuck Glass School, founded by Dale Chihuly, and is scheduled to teach a class in June at the Corning Museum of Glass Studio.

At least three of the artists Kimball secured for the show have competed in the Netflix glassblowing competition show “Blown Away.”

Elliott Walker won the competition in the show’s second season, while Morgan Peterson was declared the season four winner. Minhu Su England was named runner-up in the season three competition.

Kimball is also known for his distinctive work. According to a feature story in the University of Montana alumni magazine, where Kimball studied writing, Kimball “is the only artist in the world who creates stained glass on a large scale from furnace glass.” Rather than using glass made in factories, Kimball creates the elements himself that go into the finished product.

His education in glassworks was forged by working in factories and more than 65 different studios. He’s also done residencies at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash., Salem Art Works and in Belgium.

While Kimball isn’t part of the show, some of his recent larger-scale installations can be found at the Lawrence Transit Center and the Olathe Public Library. The latter installation is an 18-foot piece with more than 200 colorful glass spikes atop a metal base that is called Prairie Paintbrush.

‘Warped’ glass show at Reuben Saunders Gallery

What: invitational glass show curated by Monarch Glass Studio owner Tyler Kimball that features glass artists from the U.S. and U.K. who are using unconventional and limit-pushing techniques in their works

Where: Reuben Saunders Gallery, 3215 E Douglas

When: June 7-29; gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays and Mondays.

Related events: First Friday reception, with Kimball and some of the glass artists, is scheduled for 5:30-9 p.m. Friday, June 7. The Wichita Art Museum is hosting an artists’ panel discussion with Kimball moderating from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, June 8.

Admission: Free

More info: 316-682-1481 or reubensaundersgallery.com