Peter Zelle
Sculptor Peter Zelle has worked with glass, clay and steel for over 40 years.
One of his earliest inspirations was his visit as a young teenager to his great-great uncle and namesake, Peter Krasnow, the California modernist sculptor and painter (1886-1979). Zelle observed Krasnow, then in his 90s, in his studio, surrounded by art, still creating new work. Zelle had just begun working with clay, and, in that moment, chose the direction for his own life.
Zelle received his BFA in Sculpture/Glass from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1987. He apprenticed for the sculptor Howard Ben Tre in Providence, RI, before returning to his native Minnesota to establish Zelle Glass Studio, a sculpture and production glass-blowing studio, in 1992. For the next 15 years, Zelle Glass Studio sold functional and decorative glass art in over 100 galleries throughout the United States. Peter created sculptural commissions and his own work during this time as well.
In 2007, Zelle closed the glass-blowing part of his studio in order to focus exclusively on sculpture. In 2010, he began work on his Composition Series, six- to seven-foot cast-glass and steel sculptures. Working on such large pieces was a technical and conceptual challenge. It was also liberating, as it allowed Zelle to express himself more fully through gesture, mark making, and sculptural form, and to explore the power of color on a monumental scale.
In 2024, Zelle began exploring ways to light his pieces from within. With first his Illuminated Sentinels and then his Celestial Bodies, he aimed to reduce his dependence on ambient light and instead to create work with its own internal light source. Figurative and volumetric, these new pieces are illuminated by adjustable interior lights, which allow him to experiment with the temperature and intensity of each piece. These lights bring a new life and energy to his work and help capture the individual expressive character of each sculpture.
Zelle’s work has appeared in numerous fine art exhibitions, art fairs, private and corporate collections, and select public art projects.
Artist Statement
My art is an exercise of my physical intuition and my passion for color and form. I think of my sculptures as compositions, a word that resonates for me musically as well as spatially. I bring together shapes, patterns, textures, and colors in order to orchestrate a dynamic and harmonious whole. Perhaps the most striking aspect of my pieces is the luminous color radiating through the smooth surfaces, but equally important is the relief on the reverse sides. In fact, this is the first element that I address in my process, carving the shapes and textures into clay. It is only after I establish these spatial relationships that I decide the arrangement of colors that will accentuate the form and bring the composition together.
I want viewers to be moved by the pieces. I want them to be drawn into the interplay of textures, and shapes, to feel the thickness of the glass, and to touch the polished edges of each piece. I hope these works create a sense of awe. I hope the viewer is transfixed by the colors and forms.
I want my work to create a sense of excitement—a flash of recognition and the wonder of discovery. With these cast forms of colored glass, I aim to provide viewers with a space for contemplation and a respite from the cacophony of the modern world.
PETER ZELLE: WHEN COLOR BECOMES FORM
Mason Riddle
In 2013, Minnesota artist Peter Zelle redirected his studio practice to create uncommonly large, cast glass sculptures. Neither the medium nor the process was foreign, as he had worked with glass since his college days in the mid-1980s at the Rhode Island School of Design. But the scale was. These new works, some of which measure more than seven feet in height, have allowed Zelle to create bold, abstract compositions and investigate the power of color on a challenging scale.
At RISD, Zelle shifted his early focus from ceramics to glass, drawn to the latter’s luminosity and color. He learned to blow and cast glass and studied with Howard Ben Trè, with whom he apprenticed for three years, following graduation. In 1990, Zelle returned to the Twin Cities and in 1992 established his Minneapolis studio. Early on he blew production ware – glasses, goblets, bowls and vases awash in a rainbow of color – and cast modestly scaled glass pieces, often in the form of houses. Beginning in 2005, Zelle focused solely on making cast glass sculpture.
On initial viewing, it is difficult to determine whether one is most impressed by the scale of Zelle’s glass sculptures or their dynamic surfaces of puzzled together form and color. Tall and narrow suggesting sentinels on a castle watch, each freestanding piece is supported by a steel armature that echoes the rhythm or posture of the work. Significantly, the sculptures’ two sides convey different but related aesthetics, though each comprises the same formal composition. One is flat and smoothly polished, and the other is a textured bas-relief.
In a near magical way, Zelle’s cast glass pieces slip back and forth between painting and sculpture. His luminous palette, whether vivid or muted, imbues each work with an expressive painterly feel. Yet his emphasis on irregular edges and his exploration of negative space reinforces the works’ sculptural presence. In aggregate, Zelle’s complex passages of abstract form and color suggest the emotional and psychological ideas and stylistic motivations of early 20th century artists. Variously, Matisse, Braque, Gorky and Kandinsky come to mind. Zelle also lists such Abstract Expressionists as DeKooning and Rothko, and the sculptor David Smith, as indirect influences.
In conversation, Zelle links his conceptual and technical process to that of composing music, as he orchestrates color, shape and form into a palpable visual harmony. He often titles works with musical terms such as sonata, composition and serenade. In three recent sculptures, the individual palettes and compositions reflect their musical titles, Woodlands Symphony, Summer Rhapsody and Autumn Nocturne.
Zelle’s sculptures require a labor-intensive process. He first carves the piece from clay, building and erasing shapes and forms until the abstract composition is resolved. In this ebb and flow of manipulating the clay over many days, Zelle finds that individual areas suggest certain colors. From the clay sculpture, he then casts a plaster silica mold whose surfaces are impressed with each striated edge, abstract shape, and flat or relief passages. Then, working in a highly intuitive manner, Zelle delicately sifts colored crushed glass, or frit, into the mold to create the work’s final palette. The mold is then fired and cooled over two weeks.
Ultimately, Zelle is a colorist and his cast glass sculptures are compelling, associative pieces that prompt the viewer to bring his or her experiences to the work, or simply be immersed in its dramatic color and form. Many evoke an oblique narrative quality: one sculpture might suggest cultivated fields viewed from an airplane while another might convey a vibrant landscape journey. Like most musical compositions, Zelle’s sculptures should be experienced over time to appreciate the emotional and psychological nuances of each. And like most memorable works of art, Zelle’s glass sculptures allow the viewer to find personal resonance within.
Saint Paul-based Mason Riddle writes about the visual arts, architecture and design and has contributed to a range of publications including American Craft, Artforum, Dwell, and Metropolis.