Artist Bio

Artist, Martin Halvorson has always been fascinated with the complexity, as well as, the simplicity of three dimension works of art and architecture. Born in Southern California in 1962 Halvorson came up in an era when design, in everyday objects, was prized for its originality, sleek lines and glittering chrome. This led him into the field of Industrial Technology at San Joaquin Delta College and a lifelong love for working in structural steel and metallurgy. His experience leading teams of welders and engineers, as a project Foreman, established Halvorson as an expert in the field of custom high-rise structures.

In sharp contrast to the larger-than-life scale of his formal studies Halvorson founded and operated a small steel company; building and designing steel furniture and home accessories. Here he could excel in those everyday elegantly designed objects we all love to live with. During this time, he found time to study the works of the African, Aztec, and Mayan cultures which provided him a window into the belief and religious practices of ancient artisans. Halvorson became fascinated with the sculptures and masks of the various peoples. Soon he realized the similarities these ancient forms shared with the modern works of European masters such as Picasso and Modigliani.

In 1989, Halvorson enrolled in a weekend workshop with Philip Teefy, Rainbow Glass Works of Sacramento, California. He quickly became fascinated with the diversity of glass as an art medium. It wasn't long before Halvorson developed his own glass working techniques pushing the boundaries of the medium. Halvorson relocated to Arizona in 2001 where he instantly become enamored with the cultural diversity in the Southwest. Encountering a class in ceramics, with David Bradly and Frank Krevens at Paradise Valley Community College, as well as, a glass blowing and casting class with Seth Fairweather, would soon set Halvorson off in a new exploratory artistic direction.

Today, Martin Halvorson is well known for his sculptural work in glass, ceramics, metal, and bronze. His background and education in fabrication provides him with the skill set to build his own equipment including; tools, kilns, furnaces, and molds. One of his many unusual glass working processes is Dichroic Glass. He describes it as, "A thin film of metallics applied in a vacuum chamber process electro flashed onto glass. This blocks and reflects light rays at various angles. The technique was developed at NASA as an Aerospace technology for the space program. Thus, it is a very expensive and desirable process." This is only one example of how Halvorson prides himself on continually pushing the envelope on form, technique, material abilities and combinations. As a result, his work has a uniquely, diversified, contemporary yet ancient feel.