Best known for his intricately detailed glass marbles, in his current show, Milk at Fl!ght Gallery, Sean Thomas Johnston departs from traditional glass blowing and instead ventures into the conceptual realm of contemporary art. Upon entering the gallery, I immediately thought of Duchamp and his subversive wit. Three walls are lined with faucets leaking white drips. The reference to the readymade, however, ends there. While Johnston sourced the fixtures at Home Depot, the drips are delicate, organic forms of hand-blown white glass. Speaking with the artist, he told me that white glass is particularly difficult to work with, since the translucent milkiness can easily shift to a burnt color when improperly handled. While Johnston was not directly inspired by Duchamp, he was referencing the shift in matter from liquid to solid and creating an optical illusion with his sculptures.
