My multidisciplinary practice pulls from the disparate, yet conjoined, histories of science and mysticism. Using kilnformed glass, organic media, and aroma molecules, my work references the transformative relationships between body, material, and space. Adornment, corporeal self-expression, and the fragmented body intersect with historical and imagined material animacies to create mythopoetic objects and figures. These ideas are expressed through the integration of hard and soft materials such as glass, metal, leather and horsehair with multisensory elements including liquid, fragrance, and kinetic mechanisms. Glass, in particular, is a foundational element both conceptually and materially. The medium’s scientific lineage and its associations with preservation, fantasy and impermanence are woven into sculptures, installation, and assemblage.
Emily Endo (née Nachison) was born and raised in San Diego, California. They received a BFA in fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2006 and a MFA in fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2010. Endo served as a faculty member at the Oregon College of Art and Craft from 2010-2018 and as the Chair of the OCAC Fibers Department from 2013-2018. From 2010 - 2018 they worked as a mentor and committee member in the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft Applied Craft + Design MFA program. Endo has worked with students of all ages and abilities; from 2010-2012 they taught visual arts classes at PHAME Academy for adults with developmental disabilities and children’s wilderness survival and craft classes at Trackers NW. Endo has exhibited and lectured internationally at venues such as the Scottish Glass Art Society (Glasgow, UK), The Byre (Latheronwheel, UK), the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR), the American Craft Council (Minneapolis, MN), Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), and the Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY). Their work has been featured in American Craft, Interior Design, Art Ltd. and Frontrunner.