History
The earliest evidence glass on metal art form is dated thirteenth century B.C. . . . six gold rings decorated in cloisonné enamel known as the ‘Kouklia Rings’ retrieved in 1952 from a tomb on the island of Cyprus. Not long after, a magnificent Royal Gold Sceptre with cloisonne enamel from the eleventh century B.C. was discovered in a tomb at Kourion.

The artistry of glass on metal, otherwise known as enameling, has taken many turns over the centuries – from the intricate boxes of Battersea and Limoges and the fabulous eggs of Peter Carl Faberge to the jewels of the art nouveau era – but none so remarkable and unique as the works of Fred Uhl Ball (1945-1985) whose experimental techniques elevated enamel work from decorative objectives to abstract, interpretive wall art.

Ball began his formal career at age eleven with open air demonstrations at the California State Fair. “The worse conditions were,” Ball said, “the wilder my work would get.” The young man had a flair for the unusual – torch firing thin sheets of metal, exploding liquid enamel and firing enamel-coated cobwebs and tree leaves to create pattern and texture.

As his finesse grew, so did the renown of his freeform process. “Once breaking away from tradition and approaching the art in a ‘painterly’ way, all kinds of innovations began to occur.” Ball’s innovations garnered him worldwide acclaim as a master of large-scale enamelwork with over forty-five public commissions recorded at the Archives of American Art, the largest of which is ‘The Way Home,’ a 24’x 62’ installation on a municipal parking garage at 3rd and L Streets in his Sacramento hometown. (photo)

Ball was known as a generous man who had a commitment to sharing his discoveries with young artists. One of these was Craig Ruwe (1957-2004) of Long Beach, California who assisted Ball in his largest installation. After moving to New Mexico in the 1980’s, Ruwe innovated methods to create gradient imagery within the enamel and refined the presentation, using framed glass and later the metal itself as framing. Under the demands of a large commission in 2001, Ruwe engaged the painter and sculptor Zingaro (1954) to assist him. This arrangement continued until Ruwe’s death in 2004 when Zingaro was left to carry on the evolution of the process and the training of young artists.

Zingaro’s lifetime as a painter allowed him to approach the art form in a ‘painterly’ way. His works in enamel reflect the depth of his skill and mastery of the use of color. Playing with fire in glass on metal has excited his abstract image interpretation and composition, bringing about a remarkable and prolific body of work that numbers over 500 pieces to date. Zingaro is regarded as one of the foremost contemporary enamel artists working in the U.S. today.