Nicole Ayliffe explores the optical qualities of glass through her beautiful transparent glass forms. By using a variety of cold working techniques, Nicole masterfully creates unique visual effects and the illusion of space. Her exhibition ‘Seasonal Landscapes’ both describes and captures the beauty of nature through its use of delicate imagery. As is characteristic of Nicole’s work, the solidity of the glass and the suspension of the internal bubble creates an element distortion and movement, emphasising the reflection and refraction of light between the exterior and interior surfaces. Inspired by the details of leaves scattered on the ground, and the patterns of the trunks of trees, this exhibition explores “the way the colours of the landscape change with the seasons, creating an everchanging palette”.

Nicole graduated in 2005 from the South Australian School of Art, University of South Australia, completing a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) majoring in glass and photography. In 2004, she was selected for the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition and received a High Commendation for the Adelaide City Council Award. She has been selected for a number of awards, and has won the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society Art Prize as well as exhibiting in London, Stockholm, Taiwan, Edinburgh and Pittsburg. Nicole’s work is represented in numerous collections both in Australia and overseas, including Parliament House (Canberra), National Art Glass Collection (Wagga Wagga) and the Glasmuseum (Coesfeld, Germany).