Sitar Balaban
About
Born in 1994 in a small village in northern Israel, I have always been captivated by the world of art. From a young age, I immersed myself in a wide range of creative practices—painting, sculpture, sewing, and knitting. But it was glass that truly captured my imagination. Its fragility, luminosity, and endless possibilities became an obsession I’ve nurtured throughout my artistic journey.
I graduated with honors from the Ceramics and Glass Design department at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, where I explored a variety of glass techniques, from stained glass and flameworking to the mesmerizing art of glassblowing. My passion for glass took me further abroad, where I studied and assisted artists at the renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, and deepened my knowledge at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. These experiences solidified my love for the medium and its inherent balance of risk and beauty.
Working with glass is much like performing a delicate dance. The choreography required to manipulate the material in such a hot and intense environment demands precision, intuition, and collaboration. Each piece I create is an exploration of this fragile balance, where every movement, every shift in temperature, and every interaction with the material carries meaning.
My work is not only technical but deeply personal. The themes of femininity, family history, and the complexities of gender roles run through much of my practice. I seek to capture the quiet moments of introspection, the stories that shape us, and the delicate interplay between reality and imagination. My artistic process is often a fluid exchange between two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds, where I blend printmaking, painting, and glassblowing. This dynamic approach allows me to push the boundaries of the material and create pieces that speak to both the fragility and strength inherent in life itself.
Awards and Scholarships:
- Student Excellence Award, Bezalel Academy, Ceramic and Glass Design Department, 2023
- Deborah Blumenthal Award for Outstanding Final Project in Ceramic and Glass Design, Bezalel Academy, 2022
- Summer Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School, Washington, USA, Polonsky Foundation, 2022
- Commendation, Herman Struck Award for Printmaking, 2022
- Summer Scholarship, Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA, AIDA Association, 2024
Exhibitions:
- 2020: “Worker's Meal”, “Earth Art”, Bloomfield Science Museum, Jerusalem
- 2021: “Kind of a Woman”, Connections, Glass From Every Angle, GAS Member Exhibition
- 2022: “Trapped”, “Again and Again”, The EN Gallery, Seattle (Part of Refract Event 2022)
- 2024: “Skin”, Glass Fashion Show, BIG Festival, Biot, France
Featured in:
- Portfolio Magazine: Spotlight on 2022 Art Graduate in Israel