A 44-year-old Swiss artist, Simon Berger has created magnificent portraits of celebrities out of shattered glass. Using his expert hammer skills and a keen eye for visual effects, Berger has produced unique and multi-layered meaningful works of art.
Glass is a material with endless artistic potential, and with boundless creativity, Berger has invented a unique technique that can be considered "one-of-a-kind in the world" - creating one-of-a-kind works of art from cracks in glass using just a hammer.
Using old glass panels, Simon Berger has crafted portraits by creating cracks on them. Using a moderate amount of force on the glass surface, he creates spider web-like patterns or three-dimensional shapes. His most prominent works are surreal portraits, often of women.
Vivienne Heinzelmann, a novelist, said of Berger, "Contrary to the normal way of handling glass with care to ensure its integrity, Berger uses the material's fragility to express his artistic language." This reminds me of sculpting techniques where a hammer is used to chisel out significant characteristics on a glass canvas.
An originally clear glass becomes partially opaque owing to controlled breaking, resulting in fissures that obey the physical rules of the material. The use of safety glass permits the fragments to remain intact. The play of light improves the experience of the artwork. Beams of light are reflected by the shards and crevices in the glass, making the artwork's surface shine. Depending on the illumination, the portrait might look to genuinely shine.
Through Berger's art, simple glass panels come to life. This 'avant-garde art' generates works that take our brains a few seconds to comprehend the actual complexity of the art. Berger masterfully emphasizes the feminine characteristics in the paintings. His works show an inner beauty that is not immediately visible and exists in the world of the ethereal.
Berger has spent a considerable amount of time creating big pieces that have been presented in exhibitions and utilized as store decorations. One of his most interesting projects involved Vice President Kamala Harris. He created a shattered glass portrait of her in just one day, which was displayed at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of 2021. This method was fitting for Harris, who shattered the "glass ceiling" by becoming the first woman, African American, and Asian American to hold the position of Vice President of the United States.
