Glass
Nick Leonoff
New to Spring 2025!
Carmel Valley Village, CA
Booth 551
Featured Artist
Born in 1978 Nick Leonoff began his art career in 1998 working as an apprentice to stained glass artist Alan Masaoka. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 2002. Returning to glass in 2004, Nick was introduced to studio glass blowing. While developing his skills, he studied at numerous renowned Craft Schools around the country including Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Pittsburgh Glass Center, and the Studio at Corning Museum of Glass. He has worked alongside many notable artists including Davide Salvedore, Martin Janecky, Jack Wax and Jiri Harcuba. Leonoff moved his studio to Brooklyn, NY in 2011 to further pursue his artistic practice. After an artistically transformative time in NYC, Leonoff returned to his hometown of Carmel Valley, CA. In 2017, he opened the doors to Leonoff Studios & Gallery where he continues to create his blown glass. He expanded his Carmel Valley Village location in 2019 by opening a new showroom, Nick Leonoff Contemporary Glass Gallery, where you may view a range of his blown and cold carved glass sculptures. Recognized nationally for his honed craft, you can find Leonoff’s work showcased around the country.
I create contemplative forms using a Swedish technique of layering colored glass in the walls and surface of blown glass forms. I carve the surface of the forms with diamond wheels, removing layers of glass and exposing the colors within. Through coldworking, the blown forms become a canvas for carvings to take shape and reveal the core of the design. Through these processes I have been able to explore the potential of color and light.
The Portal cradles the significance of balance, not only relating to that of mass and form, but dynamically through the revelation of the reciprocity of lightness and darkness. This juxtaposition forms through the opaque and translucent glass into the soul of the Portal. The material embraces the significance of relativity and how light emitted from a dark space appears brighter. What emerges in this space connects the conscious with the subconscious as the voice of the lights echoes within the chamber.