Jackie Pancari (1961-2021)

Domed glass forms, reminiscent of paperweights, initially attract viewers to this installation by its beauty.  Upon closer inspection, however, compelling symbolism reveals itself.  Reflecting on Japan is comprised of 49 clear glass mushroom forms of various heights and widths arranged within a circular space about three feet in diameter.  Through the top, magnified by the glass dome, one can see a circular excerpt from a Japanese newspaper that has been stained red and attached to the bottom stem.  Subconscious associations begin to arise, such as the Japanese flag’s iconic red rising sun on a white background, the mushroom clouds resulting from atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the bloody cost of war, the potential for nuclear proliferation, and contemporary Japanese culture seen through different lens.  Through visual metaphors Jackie Pancari stimulates socio-political discourse using glass, a medium traditionally associated with craft art.  Single-handedly she dispels any residual argument that craft art is hierarchically inferior to fine art. —NW