* Artist Statement

I make resonant machines. These devices, often hacked or homemade consumer electronics, are assembled into systems that are almost social. They seem to follow an unconscious, emotional logic, transmitting and receiving poetic signals. I use black, bubbly, and frosted glass to partly obscure these objects’ interiors— mysterious but still transparent, physically doing exactly what they seem to do. They sing, harmonize, and amplify the obscure mechanisms of 21st century culture, in which social relations are fabricated, collected, propagated, and sold.

* Bio

Charlie Manion is a glass and sound artist from the American Midwest. He translates gestures across disciplines (sculptures that perform music, music that evokes machinery, instruments that play people). He has worked as a scientific lampworker, touring musician, and maker for hire. His work has been shown at the Hyde Park Art Center, Design Museum of Chicago, and Chrysler Museum Glass Studio. He was the public glass studio manager at Firebird Community Arts in Chicago before pursuing an MFA at the NY State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.