For Sibylle Peretti, glass is more than a material. It is a metaphor.
Through her glass art, the artist explores the fragility of nature, the environment – and our relationship to both.
Artist: Peretti was born and grew up in Mülheim an der Ruhr, a mostly urban and industrial region in Germany, where kids played in the Thyssen steel tubes and climbed coal stockpiles.
At age 18, she moved to the Bavarian forest, which had a deep tradition of glass making. Fascinated by this craft, Peretti spent three years studying at the State School for Glass Making in Zwiesel, learning techniques from enameling and engraving to cutting and designing.
After that, she continued her studies in sculpture and painting at the Art Academy in Cologne.
“Most of my work in Germany explored that dialogue between idea and material, between creating layers of meaning and the object,” said Peretti. “Glass was that magic canvas that connected it all.”
Studio: Peretti, who has work spaces in New Orleans and Cologne, has been a self-employed artist since 1992.
In Cologne, Peretti’s work area is part of her living space. Mostly she works on research and drawings while there.
Her work place in New Orleans is in an 800-square-foot space in an historic industrial building in the city’s Bywater neighborhood. It is where she keeps her kilns and tools.
The high ceilings of Peretti’s New Orleans space are perfect for the installation of wall panels, and the floors are large enough to lay out her landscapes that later will be transferred to slumped glass panels.
“Most important is that it feels like my intimate space where ideas transform into physical objects and become alive,” said Peretti. “As soon as I enter the studio, I am immersed in my imagination and creative process.”
Art & materials: Collaged glass wall panels and cast-glass sculptures ($2,000 to $60,000). Her work combines kiln-forming, silvering, engraving, and painted glass with layers of paper and printed images.
The glass panels depict individual animals, a frequent subject of Peretti’s work, set in magical vignettes adorned with pearls, beads, crystals, feathers, ginger stalks and sunflowers.
Urban wildlife that lost their habitat like deer, coyotes and foxes are her focus in her sculptures.
“In both of my practices I like to question our relationship to nature and balance the nostalgia of impending loss – societal or environmental,” said Peretti, who has witnessed the industrial wastelands of her native Germany and the eroding and flooded lowlands of her adopted Louisiana home.
Certain themes:
- Nature and climate change.
- Survival and resilience.
- Hope and beauty.
Must-have tools: Kiln, wax tools, paints and brushes, glass cutter and engraver.
Inspirations:
- Late romanticism and medieval time periods.
- Industrial architecture.
- Nature and abandoned urban places.
- Areas where wilderness meets civilization.
Recent honors:
- The Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, acquired “Rising Fawn II.”
- The Corning Museum of Glass in New York acquired “After the Flood before the Storm,” a 12-panel glass wall relief. 2025.
- Received a grant from the Ernsting Foundation Munich to realize a specific installation using gold ruby glass for the upcoming Bergstrom Mahler exhibit.
Recent project: Gathering material and ideas for a life-size sculpture cast in glass.
What’s next:
- A solo exhibition, “Before it turns to Gold,” at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum for Glass, Neenah, WI. Oct. 23 through March 14.
- A group show, “Developments,” at Glasmusem Lette (Ernsting Foundation), a contemporary glass museum in Coesfeld-Lette, Germany. Through March 1.
The exhibition focuses on 30 international artists, including Peretti, whose works are already part of the collection.
Where to buy:
- sibylleperetti.com.
- callancontemporary , New Orleans, LA.
- habatat.com, Royal Oak, MI.
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