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The art of geometry, transformed
Like everything else, art has to begin somewhere. For mixed media artist Hannah Bowlus, the inspiration was a pair of simple geometric forms. As she says, “The relationship between the cube and the sphere is the creative origin point” for her first showcase at the Toledo Museum of Art, In Origin Point the BGSU graduate extracts a remarkable amount of beauty and depth from such humble forms.
Running from July 29 through December 27, in the TMA’s Glass Pavilion, Origin Point is centered around five of her pieces from the past six years of her career. “Slime Units” (2021) and “Aurora Module” (2022) are more quotidian objects — lamps that stand at the intersection of form and function — while “Aetherion as Cube” (2025) and “Generative Design Thinking” (2024) show Bowlus working in a more purely aesthetic, sculptural mode.
The enormous “Pixel Wall” (2023) rounds out the collection. Made up of 250 discrete blown glass cubes wired with LEDs programmed by Ewen Warren, it’s a tour de force of patience, skill, and technology.
“There are about 1,000 individual solder points On Pixel Wall, 250 hand blown and cut glass cubes, and 1,000 custom sized wires,” said Bowlus. “I got better by doing the same thing so many times in a row.”
At the nexus of art and science
This iterative, methodical approach to glasswork and her art, in general, is a natural extension of Bowlus’ own journey to the art form. “I began taking studio art classes while also deciding on possibly pursuing a degree in applied sciences. Learning how to blow glass is a really beautiful combination of these two disciplines.”
For Bowlus, the interplay between our world’s latent geometric patterns and her artwork was initially incidental. “It definitely emerged organically at first, and then once I realized the pattern I started explor- ing more deliberately.” Nowhere is that effort more apparent than in “Generative Design Thinking.” What first strikes as a robust but simple inventory of ways to combine metal with glass transforms upon closer inspection. Spheres of glass are cut away to show cubic interiors and vice versa. A group of glass cubes combine to create an enormous ball-shape in the middle, resulting in an image that is at once cubic and spherical.
It’s a feast for the eyes that delights as often as it impresses.
As seen in “Generative Design Thinking” and “Pixel Wall,” there’s a wonderful sense of play to Bowlus’ work. It possesses a verve that suggests an excitement about sharing the incredible things an artist can do with glass, metal, and light.
When asked about the feelings her showcase evokes, Bowlus was both introspective and humble. After emphasizing that “Origin Point” is the most of her pieces displayed in one place at one time, she said: “my strongest feeling has really been gratefulness for all of the people around me that have mentored and supported me and the museum team that made this exhibition happen.”
Like everything else, art has to start somewhere. Origin Point isn’t the beginning of Bowlus’ journey, but it’s a very big step toward a bright future.
Origin Point. Toledo Museum of Art; Glass Pavilion Gallery 5. 2445 Monroe Street, Toledo, OH 43620. July 29 – December 27; Wed, Thurs, Sun: 11am – 5pm; Fri, Sat: 11am – 8pm. toledomuseum.org/exhibitions/hannah-bowlus-origin-point.
