About

Michael Apfel

is a self-taught artist. Born in 1953 in Indonesia, Michael took to art as soon as he was able to hold a crayon. Years of artistic expression made it clear that Michael's life would be centered upon his passion for art.

Michael, who combines ancient glass making techniques with space age materials to create otherworldly effects in his original sculptures with dichroic glass.

As Michael describes himself and his work "I have always considered myself to be an artist without a medium. I jumped around sporadically from stained glass, to painting, to sculpture, to mosaics and any mixture thereof, but it wasn’t until I found glass fusion that I found my passion."

Michael’s work involves slumping, fusing, freehand carving and sandblasting to bring his work to fruition.

The word dichroic is Greek- di means two and chroic means color. Dichroic glass was developed in the 1960s for use in high technology applications. It manipulates light in two ways, transmitting one color while reflecting another. It appears to change colors when the viewer moves in relation to the piece, providing a kinetic effect.

Dichroic glass offers a fascinating dimension to contemporary art glass. Dichroic glass has been coated with thin films of metals. The metals are evaporated and vacuum deposited onto the glass. Several layers of materials such as chromium, selenium, silicon and titanium are used. Dichroic coatings have evolved from the thin film technology of NASA and other high technology programs. The technology is called "Thin Film Physics".

Each piece is the result of the artist’s own unique design and creation, and is signed and dated by the artist.

His work has been shown at fine galleries and juried exhibitions throughout the United States.