Garry Nash sees the vessel as a form that can hold and express meaning, rather than being merely a domestic or decorative object. In Untitled, the simple vase form attains an extraordinary three-dimensional presence through its spectacular tortoise-shelled livery. Nash is renowned for pushing the boundaries of hot glass. In making a piece like this one, the base colour, while still a molten, white-hot lump of glass, is rolled in coloured glass fragments, which immediately melt and fuse onto the form. Because the material is still molten there is an opportunity to create swirling movement in the patterns. Nash was born in Sydney and moved to New Zealand in 1973. He first began working with glass in 1978 and joined Sunbeam Glassworks in 1981 as a full-time glass artist. He acquired ownership of the business seven years later. Nash has participated in individual and group exhibitions throughout New Zealand and internationally. His work is held in major public collections nationally and in Australia, Europe, the United States and Japan.