Peter Zelle debuts his illuminated glass sculptures July 07 2025, 0 Comments
By Kimberly Nicoletti
Peter Zelle debuts his two latest series, Celestial Bodies and Illuminated Sentinels, with a meet-and-greet on July 18-19 at Raitman’s Breckenridge North location.The illuminated sculptures add vibrant color, a warm glow and a sense of wonder to any room. They’re Zelle’s first series of internally illuminated sculptures, which span from 4 feet to over 6 feet tall, encased in such woods as cherry, walnut and mahogany.
He began these new series with Illuminated Sentinels, remelting crushed glass — byproducts of glass bricks he has used for other pieces. But when he increased the scale of the crushed-glass sculptures, they didn’t let much light through. That’s when he decided to build a frame and incorporate LEDs.
But he discovered the actual construction process wasn’t so easy.
“I spent about nine months trying to crack the code of having a thin edge go around the glass. I spoke with a lot of woodworkers, and I talked with museum-display builders — all sorts of woodworkers, and I couldn’t really get anywhere,” he says.
Finally, a woodworking friend built the rectangular frames for the Illuminated Sentinels, then taught him how to do it. From there, he figured out a way to build frames that follow the contour of the cast glass in the Celestial Bodies series.
“I feel it’s kind of like a magnus opus,” he says about the latest series. “Unlit, these pieces showcase the relationship between the fine wood grain and the hand-carved glass relief. Illuminated, the pieces glow with an earthy intensity, evoking abstract aerial maps or patchwork terrain. The way they glow gives them a life of their own.”
Seven brightness settings and about six warm to cool settings allow you to literally dial in the exact effect you want. The nighttime setting generates a quiet, warm glow, whereas cooler settings highlight blues and cooler tones, while yellows, reds and oranges increase in intensity by cranking up warm settings.
“There’s a playfulness with colored light and illumination, and there’s a comfort. There are just a lot of qualities that I find, and that’s one of the reasons I like colored glass. It gets right into us without passing through our mind; it gets right into our bodies — we don’t think about it, we just feel it.”
Though he already excels in use of color, he’s discovering new qualities within this series, as he adjusts settings and the glass transforms, almost morphing into a whole other piece of art.
“All of the sudden, I have that option to say, what if this is a little bluer, and then it reads different. It’s like a different piece,” he says. “If you have a lit sculpture, you’re really bringing an excitement into your life.”
Carnivale' Illuminated Glass Sculpture by Peter Zelle
Zelle has long found glass inspiring, with its multiple ways to manipulate it, from pouring, slumping, casting and placing as stained glass.
He literally spends every day in the studio. He began working with ceramics and drawing in high school, and then attended Rhode Island School of Design, where he felt drawn to working three-dimensionally, so he chose glass.
He begins each piece by drawing on rolled slabs of clay and seeing what emerges.
“I like to have an idea compositionally, like am I trying to make something with a certain expression or emotion, or is this going to be more geometric (with) patterns and shapes? I start with more of a feeling and go with that and see where it leads,” he says. “Commissions are great for your creativity because you’re being asked to do things you wouldn’t necessarily think of.”
He’s currently working on a commission to honor a loved one who has passed. Through the 5-foot-high metal and glass outdoor sculpture, he is exploring transitions, which he says may lead to a new series.
He also wants to expand upon his Horizon series, of which he’s only completed a few (you can find those at Raitman Art Galleries, too).
“My inspiration just comes from working with materials,” he says.
The Minnesota-based artist is extremely approachable and loves talking about his art — how he started, what he finds fascinating about glass, his process and more. Outside of art, he likes talking about music, sports or kids — of which he has a couple of in college.
On his upcoming visit to the gallery Zelle says, “Some people find artists intimidating, but I’m not. I don’t take myself that seriously. I’m gonna wear khakis and a polo — that’s dressed up for me,” he says.
He’ll also have a short slideshow running on his computer showing the stages he went through to create his latest series.
So stop by the Breckenridge location July 18 or 19 — it might just spark a sense of wonder, and even mysticism, much like walking into an ornate cathedral illuminated by stained glass and talking to its creator.
