Long bicycle chain

Blanche Tilden
born Australia, 1968

Long bicycle chain  1997
flameworked borosilicate glass, titanium
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
Purchased with funds from the Yasuko Myer Bequest, 2000

The ubiquitous bicycle is an important source for Blanche Tilden. In her early career, Tilden’s studio was behind a bike repair shop that she had opened with Katy O’Rourke in West Melbourne. Bicycle Chain 1997, made entirely of borosilicate glass and titanium, remains a signature work for the elegance of its construction and the affection with which its quotidian source is regarded.

—Julie Ewington