Harriet Schwarzrock + Matthew Curtis
OPEN STUDIO
7 + 8 NOVEMBER 2026
Day + Time | Saturday + Sunday | 10am – 4pm
Location | 114 Uriarra Road, Crestwood NSW 2620
Access | Wheelchair accessibility | EFTPOS | Cash | Toilet | Refreshments
Matthew and Harriet run a vibrant glassblowing studio in a converted biscuit factory in Queanbeyan. Browse glass tableware and prototypes, or join the annual “trade table” exchange where you can exchange some glass for local honey, baked goods, or wine. Visitors are invited to explore a studio practice that transforms recycled glass salvaged from the waste stream into sculptural objects of striking beauty. Working with a furnace, the studio's expertise lies in blowing and casting glass, with specialities extending into neon bending and plasma illumination for exhibitions, research and commissions.
-
Harriet Schwarzrock is an Australian artist who investigates plasma illumination as an artistic medium. Graduating from Sydney College of the Arts and the Australian National University, she has exhibited extensively internationally. Based in Queanbeyan NSW, Schwarzrock operates a hot glassblowing home studio with partner Matthew Curtis. Her practice elicits plasma-aurora encased with blown-glass forms, creating subtly interacting illumination that responds to viewer proximity. Schwarzrock has been selected for prestigious residencies including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Canberra Glassworks Art Group Fellowship, AsiaLink Toyama residency in Japan and the Stephen Procter Fellowship.
Her work is widely collected and has received various awards. Her public artwork ‘murmuration’ secured the ACT’s Art in Architecture award. Her illuminated plasma installations has been exhibited at Berengo Studio in Venice, and the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
-
Matthew Curtis has developed a rigorous material-based practice focused on the shifting qualities of glass. His affinity, dexterity, and extensive experimental research have established him as a leading figure in contemporary glass. Curtis was introduced to glassblowing through an informal apprenticeship in Sydney in the early 1990s.
Curtis has been selected for prestigious residencies including the Wheaton Arts Creative Glass Fellowship, the Corning Museum International Artist in Residence, Canberra Glassworks Fellowship, and the Fuse Prize in Australia. His work features in major public collections internationally including Corning Museum of Glass, USA, The Saxe Collection, De Young Museum San Francisco, Wagga Wagga National Glass Art Collection, and The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne.
His blown and cast glass objects demonstrate keen attention to symmetry and mathematical precision. Curtis’s recent work involves diverting architectural waste glass, exploring sustainable approaches to contemporary glass practice.
Images | Harriet Schwarzrock + Matthew Curtis | Open Studio, 2025 | Photos by 5 Foot Photography