Karlyn Sutherland

Karlyn Sutherland graduated with a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Edinburgh in 2014. She began working in glass in 2009, when her exploration of these topics led to her enrolment on a master class at North Lands Creative Glass in her hometown of Lybster, Scotland.

Karlyn Sutherland, Future Heritage 2018 Alumni

Sutherland was a 2016 Endeavour Research Fellow in the Glass Workshop of the Australian National University, Canberra, the recipient of the 2017 Rakow Commission from Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY), and the 2018 Artist-in-Residence at the Toyama Institute of Glass Art in Toyama, Japan.

Central to Sutherland’s work is a long-standing interest in the bond between people and place – a dialogue that her practice explores through both glass and architecture, with a particular focus on how characteristics and qualities of space and light, are capable of shaping our experience, memories and sense of attachment to our surroundings.

Her current series of work uses perspective drawing as a tool to contemplate and communicate feelings of detachment from place, suggesting spatial experiences that are inaccessible and unreachable; flat, wall-mounted pieces use overlaid sheets of opaque, translucent, and semi-translucent glass which are fused together to create an illusion of depth, and to evoke atmosphere.

Karlyn Sutherland Work

At Future Heritage

Previously, Sutherland had been working with a largely monochromatic palette of sheet glass. Incorporating more colour into this series of work had been on her mind for some time, as had experimenting with pieces that were more design-led, and so it made perfect sense to exploring both of these aspects in the work she developed for Future Heritage.

“[Future Heritage] made me look at my work and its potential place within the art and design world in a new way, and gave me more confidence as a maker and designer. It’s also led to a number of great conversations, connections and opportunities with all sorts of people, on both a professional and a personal level, which has been really wonderful.” – Karlyn Sutherland

Current work

Most recently, Sutherland has designed, fabricated and installed her first piece of public art – a commission for the National Decommissioning Archive in Wick, Caithness. The building is heavily influenced by the cultural and physical landscape of Caithness, as well as the quality of the light. In response, Sutherland created a series of mirrored glass panels, using water from local rivers in place of deionised water during the silvering process.The panels hang on a north-south axis in the reception area, at an angle which allows the raking morning light to be redirected more deeply into the space as the sun moves around the building.

Prior to that, Sutherland was the recipient of the 2017 Rakow Commission, awarded annually by Corning Museum of Glass in support of the development of new works of art in the glass. The commission is the foremost award within the discipline, with each work added to the Museum’s prestigious collection.

Sutherland was awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship and will undertake a research project in association with the Corning Museum.

Karlyn Sutherland Work