As this exhibition explores, breaking need not always be an act of destruction: it can also have positive connotations, and be a symbol of hope and new beginnings. ‘BRKN’ examines the fascinating cognitive divide between the physical and finite, and the enduring and conceptual.

Although nothing if not nuanced, the term ‘broken’ most commonly describes negative states, weighed with the implication of finality. We tend to discard broken things, and try to walk away from broken relationships. Indeed, fractured alliances — be they of friendship, love or faith — are a central theme in this exhibition, with the metaphor of the heart as glass recurring throughout.

As the saying goes: “It is the fate of glass to break”, once broken, glass may be molten down, recycled and repurposed for a fresh chapter, and new beginnings. The exhibition’s final work ‘Glücksbringer’ invites exhibition‑goers to partake in a wedding tradition common to several world cultures: smashing glasses. It plays on this ambiguity to describe a break from the past, and the embarking on a new and different journey. Works on display, created by the Shanghai Museum of Glass, also comprise a non‑visual element: music. A medium rich in glass metaphors, selected artists either expressly employ glass as an allegory, or eloquently describe certain of its qualities. In the context of both a museum, and an art installation, these familiar songs are imbued with alternative, and sometimes surprising, interpretations.

‘BRKN’ is curated by Tilman Thürmer, Vice President of Shanghai Museum of Glass and Founder of COO, who also created the 21 installations and oversaw the production at the museum. He views the exhibition as an opportunity to consider a quality of glass that in a museum context is more dreaded than it is dissected. Tilman was intrigued by the disconnect between the trauma of broken glass and what that means in a physical sense, versus the expansive metaphorical possibilities of ‘breaking’. This was a starting point for many insightful conversations within the COO design team and the catalyst for
this exhibition.

‘BRKN’ is the 3rd edition of exhibition series ‘KEEP IT GLASSY’, inviting visitors to take an alternative look at the world around them, and at glass in particular.