Glass as Living Matter: Devitrification, Waste, and the Ethics of Materials

In the world of glassmaking, transparency is typically seen as the material’s essential value. Devitrification—the process in which glass becomes opaque due to surface crystallization—is commonly treated as a technical failure. Over the past 14 years, I have developed a consistent and intentional practice using devitrification as a central method. In this presentation, I will share how my research has led to the creation of programmable kiln systems that produce reliable devitrification effects, allowing discarded glass to be transformed into living, expressive material. My artistic practice centres around rethinking the life of materials—specifically waste materials—as having agency, memory, and force. Drawing on philosophies of new materialism and object-oriented ontology, I explore glass not as a medium to dominate, but as a collaborator. By reframing failure as a generative process, and waste as a site of creative potential, I seek to challenge dominant cultural narratives around perfection, transparency, and disposability. Through images, technical demonstrations, and personal stories, this talk will offer a material, ethical, and poetic reimagining of glass. 

Min-Haeng Kang received her BFA from Sangmyung University in Korea and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in the U.S. Her career in glass began at the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan, where she graduated with honours in 2008. She was awarded a three-year fellowship at the Utatsuyama Craft Workshop in Kanazawa, Japan, where she received the Honour Researcher Prize twice. Kang is the first foreign recipient of the Grand Prize at the Kanazawa Craft Competition, and the first Korean artist to receive the Grand Prize at the Triennial International Exhibition of Glass in Kanazawa, Japan. In Korea, she has been awarded the Silver Prize and the Special Prize at the Cheongju International Craft Biennale. Internationally, she was awarded Second Place in the inaugural “Trace – Showcasing Sustainable Glass Art” exhibition at the Glass Art Society Annual Conference, and her work was invited to the “COLOURS” exhibition at the Hempel Glasmuseum in Denmark. Her work has been featured in international publications such as New Glass Review (USA), Neues Glas/New Glass(Germany), and Contemporary Glass in Postwar Japan by Atsushi Takeda. Kang’s works are included in the public collections of the Toyama Glass Art Museum, Notojima Glass Art Museum, the Cheongju Biennale Committee, and others.

This event will be held both on-campus and online via Zoom (a link to the online stream will be sent to registered attendees).

The School of Art & Design Seminar series will continue weekly on Tuesdays from 1-2pm, between 17 February and 21 October 2025, co-convened by Dr Alex Burchmore and Alia Parker.