It both started and ended in Paris for Dallas-based hot-glass artist Anna Lou Curnes. She has been creating hot-glass art professionally since she was in her early 20s. In the 18 years since she started showing her art, 鈥淚t Started in Paris鈥� marks her first solo exhibition, inspired by a five-week trip to France in May and June of 2023.
Curnes has owned ALG Fine Art located in the Dallas Design District since 2018 and has been showing other artists' work for years. But now she is finally going to put her own art on display.
鈥淚 realized that I had never actually taken the courageous, vulnerable step to just present my work, not a duo show or a trio show or a visiting artist show, you know, but really just my work,鈥� Curnes said.
鈥淚 went on this transformative journey of learning to simplify expectations. It brought me to a place where I faced things with a lot more courage,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith that I was able to then break down those perfectionistic tendencies and find a lot of balance.鈥�
What first drew Curnes to fuse glass was the idea that even though something was shattered and broken, it could still be put back together in a more beautiful way than it was before.
Curnes, who grew up in Dallas, first learned about hot glass on a cruise to Caracas, Venezuela, when she was 10. She was fascinated by the orange melting globes that could be turned into seemingly anything. At 23, she finally got to work with glass in a class at the Creative Art Center of Dallas and went on to study under glass masters from all over the world.
But none of those teachings brought her the same self-awareness that she gained from her trip to France in 2023.
During her vacation, Curnes walked in the footsteps and saw the same sights that inspired Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul C茅zanne.
One of the most memorable locations on her journey was Mont Sainte-Victoire. There, C茅zanne painted the same scene dozens and dozens of times, and Curnes said she understood his madness, realizing that she was experiencing the same thing when trying to paint her own version of the landscape.
鈥淚 wanted to see what I saw in it,鈥� Curnes recalled. 鈥淚 wanted to see how it shaped the way that I looked at myself and the way that I looked at art. In a way, I went for inspiration, and when I left, it made me look at myself as an artist differently and the art that came from it I approached differently.鈥�
Curnes went on to create 90 pieces of art while in France. For her glass art, she used special glass from Portland, Ore., and began layering on her glass canvas. She created with both cut glass and thrown glass for the first time.
鈥淪o when I came back, I took all this glass I wanted to use and I cleaned it off,鈥� Curnes said. 鈥淚 double bagged in a giant duffel and I hauled it up to the roof and said a little prayer over it, blared that 鈥楲et It Go鈥� song from Frozen and I literally tossed it off the roof.鈥�
The artworks Let It Be One and Let It Be Two were created from this glass and depict Mont Sainte-Victoire. Her other thrown-glass pieces include Let it Thrive, Let it Resonate, Let It Be Bold and Let It Grow.
鈥淏ecause sometimes things just need to be what they are asking to be, and I think there鈥檚 a lot of power in letting it happen,鈥� Curnes said. 鈥淏ecause those were things that I realized I am now letting myself be. And I think that鈥檚 something that we should all give ourselves more leeway to do.鈥�
Curnes has other mixed-media pieces on display along with her thrown glass at ALG Fine Art through April 12.
Details: The 鈥淚t Started in Paris鈥� exhibition is on display through April 12, Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday at ALG Fine Art, 1302 Dragon St., Dallas. Free.
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