The Museum of Brands to present a new exhibition opening end of May, Glass Renewed: Hannah Gibson & the History of Glass.
This new exhibition presents artworks by internationally recognised, award-winning glass artist Hannah Gibson, alongside outstanding glass objects from the Robert Opie collection. Highlights include an ancient glass vessel, Victorian Codd bottles and a contemporary rarity: an exclusive limited edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra.
Glass Renewed brings together spectacular contemporary artworks and historic glass to explore the materiality and sustainability of glass. Alongside Hannah Gibson’s series Recycling Narratives: Whispering Sweet Nothings, exhibited for the first time in its entirety, will be selections from the Robert Opie glass collection. The display will delve into the history of glass making, the beauty of glass, and the future of its production.
Recycling Narratives: Whispering Sweet Nothings explores materiality, sustainability, and the hidden narratives within everyday objects. Central to Hannah’s practice is the innovative use of recycled glass and found materials – from televisions and Jägermeister bottles to car windscreens. While the form of the glass is transformed into enchanting sculptures, she strives to retain and honour as much of the original material as possible, allowing its past life to remain present in the final work.
Glass Renewed: Hannah Gibson & the History of Glass, 30th May 2025 – 17th August 2025
The Museum of Brands
About the artist
Hannah Gibson is an internationally award-winning glass artist and geologist, based near London. Growing up in North Wales at the foothills of Snowdonia, overlooking the Menai Straits, it was easy for Hannah to fall in love with geology. From there she went on to study geology at The University of Edinburgh, where she became fascinated by glass. Hannah took her first course in glass at Edinburgh Stained Glass House, before continuing to explore stained glass, fused glass, lampworking, blown glass then casting. Whilst studying for a Master’s in Glass, Hannah began working on her current series of work Recycling Narratives, Whispering Sweet Nothings.
Returning as Artist in Residence, the focus of her research was on materiality. Constantly pushing the boundaries of glass, her work sits at the intersection between art and science. Capturing the nostalgic imagery of childhood, exposing hidden narratives, through cast sculptural glass stands at the core of her work. Passionate about sustainability and recycling, using predominantly recycled glass and found objects, Sweet Nothings are a series of cast glass figures whispering Sweet Nothings to one another.
Inviting the viewer to question what are they whispering and why?
Hannah recently received the Habatat Detroit Award of Excellence 2024. Attaining first prize in the Internationally renowned Glass Art Society Exhibition Trace: An Exploration of Sustainable Glass Art 2023, having been shortlisted in 2022. Highly Commended in The International Glass Prize 2022 and 2021. Shortlisted for the Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass in 2022. Received the Judges Award in The Just Glass Exhibition ‘Recollection: Memories in Glass’ in 2021.
Hannah is also recommended by the Homo Faber Guide, a member of Heritage Crafts and listed in the Crafts Council directory. Alongside being on the Green committee for the Glass Art Society.
Hannah’s work has been collected and widely exhibited internationally including COLLECT, Gallery Ten, Habatat Detroit Fine Art, Habatat Galleries Florida, Habatat Galleries North Carolina, Kyoto Japan, London Glassblowing, Northlands Creative, Rhodes University, SOFA Chicago, The British Glass Biennale, The Chesterfield Gallery, The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass, The Imagine Museum, The National Liberty Museum, The Pyramid Gallery, The Royal Scottish Academy, The Wadsworth Athenium Museum of Art and. Venice. BSc Geology, MA Glass, MSDC
