Sam Herman is remembered today as one of the pioneering figures of the British Studio Glass movement. His work as an artist and as an educator empowered glassmakers to be released from the confines of the factory and enabled the studio glass movement to flourish from the 1960s onwards.
Born in Mexico City to Polish immigrants in 1936, Herman was destined to become a man of the world, living in the New York, London, and Adelaide at various period of his life as his work carried him across the globe.
Herman was one of the first students of the celebrated glass artist and educator Harvey Littleton, the ‘father of the studio glass movement’ who he initiated the first hot glass course at an American university. In 1965, Herman brought what he had learned to the United Kingdom, and built the first small tank furnace in the nation – marking a pivotal movement in the history of glassmaking in Britain as it promoted a liberating sense of self-expression for glass artists. His legacy endures through not only his work, but also the workshops he established during his lifetime.
In 1969, he established The Glasshouse in London. In 1974, Herman travelled to Adelaide where he set up the glass section of the Jam Factory Workshops. Both of these innovative workshops were the first of their kind in their respective countries, and were pivotal in developing his style and disseminating his aesthetic ideals globally. Returning to the UK in 1979, he set up a studio in London where he worked until 1990. Alongside working from this studio, from 1984 Herman had moved to Mallorca and radically shifted his artistic output towards painting and sculpture, finding inspiration in the new landscape. From 1990, he became a consultant for the Cristalleries Val Saint Lambert in Belgium.
At the core of Herman’s work we observe an importance placed upon respecting the truth of materials, and the inherent quality of glass. His work explores the possibilities of glass, pushing it to its limits with a creative interest in aesthetics being his guiding force. The sense of abstraction in his work is striking, both in the overall form of the piece and in its juxtaposition against natural influences: vases that are pushed to the edge of functionality with intricate details reminiscent of something one might dream of as a natural occurring phenomenon. His work blends the abstract with the natural in a seamless manner that encourages viewers to look again, and to look closer.
Sam Herman’s work has been the feature of numerous important exhibitions in his lifetime and beyond: from a retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1971 that grew his global reputation, to the 2024 exhibition The Glass Heart: Art, Industry & Collaboration at Two Temple Place, which cemented his enduring importance and his eminence within the industry. His work remains highly coveted by collectors and is found in important international institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide to name but a few.
