Exhibition Dates：April 22 – May 4, 2023
Where：Nalata Nalata     2 Extra Place, New York, NY, 10003

Nalata Nalata is pleased to present Relife: An Exhibition of Reclaimed Blue Glassware, our second exhibition with glass atelier Factory Zoomer. The works in this collection are drawn from founder Kazumi Tsuji’s renowned series that repurposes the remnants of her studio’s signature “standard series”. Although Tsuji-san did not need to look far for source material for this collection, this series illustrates the broader considerations she has in her blown-glass practice.

Since establishing the studio in 1999, Kazumi Tsuji draws on her background in contemporary glass art to create handcrafted glassware that meets people in their daily life and blurs the distinction of art and craft.  Her practice deeply considers how glassware engages in one’s everyday habits to understand how her pieces support people’s needs. Such considerations then also include how pieces can circulate once they are broken or discarded. 

Relife is a special collection that recycles black and clear glass shards from Factory Zoomer’s standard series. Pieces that have been broken or discarded are melted down again to create objects anew, and in the process, the resulting glass develops a surprising indigo hue. Each new piece of glassware created in this process is wholly unique as the saturation of color and tone is determined by the ratio of black glass re-melted in each batch. To source enough material for this series, Tsuji-san has been collecting shards since 2019, finally culminating in the beautiful pieces in Relife. 

Relife also features two new pieces we have designed with Factory Zoomer. Expanding upon our previous collaboration of rock-cut whiskey glasses, we’re excited to release a new iteration of the whiskey glass and a new whiskey decanter made of reclaimed glass. Each piece features precise, diagonal cuts in the glass to create a motif that reads as “N” and “Z”, depending on the angle from which it is seen, to symbolize our continued collaborative effort. 

In the spirit of repurposing and breathing new life to discarded materials, we are excited to welcome Kazumi Tsuji back to present Relife on Earth Day, 22 April 2023.