Brent Kee YoungGlass artist and Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) professor emeritus Brent Kee Young’s Matrix Series emerged from observations of organic and constructed systems: The tangled network of a tree’s exposed roots and the intertwined steel rebar of a demolished building next to his studio.

These matrix-like structures inspired a new approach to form using borosilicate glass. Building on his flameworking experience, Young developed a simple, organically shaped “T” element that could be repeatedly joined to create complex, interconnected forms with endless structural possibilities.

Young’s A Concept in Flux: The Matrix Series Light • Line • Form • Glass is currently on exhibit at The Sculpture Center, 12210 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 44106, through Saturday, Oct. 31.

Transparency is central to Young’s work. Rather than relying on mass, he uses clear glass to define volume through line, light, and space—allowing forms to shift as they are viewed from different angles.

His earliest experiment—a hemisphere with a square opening—demonstrated the potential of this construction method and led to ongoing explorations of geometric structures informed by the mathematical concept of “volumes of solid revolution.” 

The work featured in the Sept. 4 Sculpture Center exhibit opening, which feature Young, Emily Culver, and Max Spitzer, comprise “Oblique…in a Minor Key,” spherical elements are ensconced in unstably balanced cubic forms, creating a dynamic relationship between geometry and organic growth.

Young's work investigates the ambiguous nature of glass and its ability to create shifting perceptions of space, volume, and light.Young’s practice is informed by a wide range of influences, including Japanese ceramics, Native folk art, natural history, architecture, mathematics, engineering, and artists such as Kazuo Yagi, Henry Moore, Constantin Brancusi, Sol LeWitt, Richard Serra, Paul Klee, and Romare Bearden.

Throughout his work, Young investigates the ambiguous nature of glass and its ability to create shifting perceptions of space, volume, and light. The Matrix Series continues this inquiry, offering a fresh framework for exploring the visual and conceptual possibilities of the material.

The exhibit features an intricate network of interconnected, delicately flame-constructed glass rods.

Ideas, narratives, and history emerge from these imagined geometric compositions, while the works explore glass and its physicality, challenging perceptions of the material’s fragility.

Young continues his explorations in the Matrix Series at his studio in Cleveland’s Midtown Arts District.