This piece belongs to Loretta H. Yang’s signature series “Formless, But Not Without Form,” which is based on the Diamond Sutra and her personal insights into life. The natural color vein patterns and bubbles formed in the glass during the production process are used to convey the Buddhist concept of impermanence. Understanding the evanescent nature of all phenomena makes life seem like a tiny bubble in a translucent universe, ushering in the unbounded freedom that comes with the transcendence of both being and nonbeing. In view of the impermanence of life, every moment is precious. With the wisdom of “signlessness” we come to see that attachment to any aspect of conditioned phenomena is the root cause of all suffering; overcoming this discrimination engenders insight into the nonduality of self and other, underscoring our connection with all living beings. Yang has developed a glasswork technique which gives full expression to the richness of Eastern philosophy. Inspired by the cardinal virtues of wisdom and compassion, and utilizing an artistic language which combines substance and emptiness, her work reflects the passage in the Diamond Sutra which reads, “All conditioned things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow.” This piece was produced using a combination of lost-wax casting (pâte de verre) and hot-pour casting. First, a Buddha image formed through pâte de verre is heated and placed within a sand mold. Next, molten glass is poured into the same mold, sealed, and left to set. The result is a chimerical image enclosed in transparent glass, producing a poetic effect suggestive of the ephemeral nature of the world. In 2017 this piece was acquired by the Museum of Decorative Arts (Musée des Arts Décoratifs) in Paris, becoming the first acquisition of Chinese glass art in its century-old collection. More than merely the masterful execution of the lost-wax casting technique, each piece produced by Yang is a manifestation of her sense of mission, philosophy of life, and insight into the teachings of Buddhism.
