About

“I have always been drawn to spending time in the natural world, especially as an immersive experience. Being in the water, standing on the edge of a precipice or being  surrounded by nature, steeped in a particular light, as day transitions to dusk, has an effect on me that suffuses into the core of my wellbeing. My location, on the tip of the wild, rugged and rural North Antrim Coast, where I live and work, allows me to feed my habit of collecting and studying aspects of nature and the cycle of life. I explore parallels found between studies of the natural world and human life.”

  • Andrea Spencer makes work that is inspired by nature, drawing on natural forms and structures, to create pieces which correlate with aspects of human nature. Often the work deals with the transformation of a natural form (translated into glass) into an unnatural hybrid that shares an embodiment with its source material. This becomes a surreal manifestation of the process of artistic creation, wherein an object transcends its status as a mere construction to become a different order of reality.

     “An object that is drawn from the natural world, transformed by a process that evokes both science and craft, becomes a metaphor that carries a multitude of interpretations”

    Starting with glass rods and tubes, these are manipulated, blown, cut, stretched and sculpted in the flame. Her work posess qualities that reflect the intricacies of the natural world and usually contains elements that highlight its beauty and transience.

  • Her work tends to appeal to those who are drawn to the ephemeral and impossibly delicate. Her practise is a lot about process, often starting with collecting and laying out natural specimens then moving into investigations in glass. In the studio natural objects, manmade creations, drawings and text intertwine and layer up over time, becoming juxtaposed and forming a series of dialogues. This process of collecting and curating develops into temporary installations, groupings and isolated objects to create an environment or an atmosphere.

  • Andrea Spencer graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1993 with a BA (Hons) in Architectural Glass. Her small-scale sculpture and site-specific installations are concept driven, exploring natural forms to create artworks that carry a personal narrative.

    Spencer maintains an emphasis on the unique properties of glass, exploiting the qualities of transparency, fragility and fluidity intrinsic to the material and employs techniques to encapsulate, contain and protect, alongside elements to define, brace, bridge and support.

    Andrea’s work is held in significant public and private collections, has been exhibited in the UK, Europe, USA and China and since 2008 has regularly featured in the British Glass Biennale. Her work has been included in the Corning Museum of Glass’ annual New Glass Review (2010). In 2017 she received the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Artist Career Enhancement Scheme Award. Residencies include artist-in-residence at North Lands Creative Glass (Scotland). Teaching includes national and international glass schools  such as Pilchuck Glass School (USA) Bildwerk (Germany) and The Royal College of Art.

  • SELECTED AWARDS

    2022 Best in Show,August Craft Month Showcase Exhibition, Craft NI

    Queen Elizabeth Trust Scholarship

    ArtsCouncil of `Northern Ireland SIAP

    2020 Best in Show,August Craft Month Showcase Exhibition, Craft NI

    2017 Support for the Individual Artist, ACES Award Arts Council of Northern Ireland

    2014 Support for the Individual Artist, Arts Council of Northern Ireland

    2012 Art in Action Contemporary Glass Award, British Glass Biennale

    2008 Support for the Individual Artist, Arts Council of Northern Ireland May 2004 Support for the Individual Artist, Arts Council of Northern Ireland

    SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

    2022 Collect 22, North Lands Creative, Somerset House, London,UK

    British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Mill. Stourbridge, England

    Beyond Edges, Ards Arts Centre, Newtownards, NI, UK

    Made in Ireland, National DesignCentre , Kilkenny, Ireland

    2021 Ground Zero 360, George Bush Presidential Library, TX, USA

    Beyond Edges, Roe Valley Arts Centre, NI, UK

    Made in Ireland, National DesignCentre , Kilkenny, Ireland

    2020 Wir, group show, Labor im Chor, Schwäbisch, Germany

    Unlocked, Craft NI Gallery Belfast, UK

    2019 PIlchuck Auction, WA, USA

    Inspire, London Glass Blowing Gallery

    Five Artists Show in a Byre, Ballymena, Northern Ireland

    2017 British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Mill. Stourbridge, England

    Five Artists show in a Byre, Cloughmills, Co.Antrim

    2015 Fragile and Fugitive States of Being, Sunburst gallery, Newtownards

    2013 Art In Action, Waterperry House, Oxford, England

    Art in Action - Winners! Vessel Gallery, London

    Three x 3, Garter lane Arts Centre, Co.Waterford, Ireland

    Gather, Irish contemporary glass,Shanghai Art Fair, China

    New Glass - Ancient Skill, Blackwell Arts and Crafts House, England

    2012 Three x 3, Ards Art centre, Newtownards, Northern Ireland

    Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast,

    British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Mill. Stourbridge, England

    Engaging with Glass,Traver gallery Tacoma, WA , USA

    Three x3, Engine room Gallery, Belfast

    Elements, Irish contemporary glass and ceramics, Shengling Gallery, Redtown Shanghai

    2011 Contemporary Glass, Belfry arts centre, Norfolk, England

    Three x3, Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, Northern Ireland

    Engaging with glass, The Solstice arts centre Navan 2010

    Contemporary Glass, Belfry arts centre, Norfolk, England

    British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Mill. Stourbridge, England

    Three x3 , Craft NI Gallery, Belfast

    SELECTED COMMISSIONS AND INSTALLATIONS

    2018 Seeds, Lusk National School, Lusk

    2017 Landmarks, Omagh Hospital, Omagh.

    2016 Ebb and Flow, Northern Ireland Hospice, Belfast

    2015 Ebb and Flow, Northern Ireland Hospice, Belfast

    2015 CrystalHealing Wall, garden of Reflection, Derry- LondonDerry

    2013 Self similar , Architectural glass and bronze, Inner City Trust, Derry- LondonDerry

    2012, Irises, suspended sculpture, Glass and metal, New Acute Hospital for the North West, Enniskillen

    2012, Meadows, architectural glass, , New Acute Hospital for the North West, Enniskillen

    2011 Still blue water,, New Macmillian Palliative Care unit, Antrim Hospital

    2011 Waterlillies, New Macmillian Palliative Care unit, Antrim Hospital

    2010 Heritage Reflections, sculptural glass installation, Portadown Treatment and Care Centre, Portadown

    COLLECTIONS

    2020 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2008 Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2004 North Lands Creative Glass

    SELECTED RESIDENCIES

    2012 Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, Co.Kerry 2011 Belfry Arts Centre, Overstrand, Norfolk 2010 Belfry Arts Centre, Overstrand, Norfolk

    Penland Schol of Crafts, NC, USA