Extract from the introduction by Michael Robinson to the book Seeds of Change published in 2001 to accompany the exhibition of Neil's work at Glass Gallery Leerdam in Holland:
Neil Wilkin is Britain's most important hot-glass maker. He is a product of the studio glass movement but within that two entirely different things: an artist in his own right with a vision that he uses his own skills to articulate; and a glass master in the old sense of the term, a leader coordinating the multiple skills and abilities of a team to realise the visions of other artists. These two separate though related aspects of Wilkin and his work need always to be borne in mind.
Architecturally, sculpturally, decoratively hot and cold glass expands its potential and complexity and its ability to present and solve fresh problems. Neil Wilkin is a key figure in the ongoing development of this movement and its relevance to our aesthetic and practical needs. As the master, the coordinator of group skills and the vehicle for the creative activity of others he keeps alive traditions of glass making older than glass in Britain, and on home ground he is without peer and sought internationally for his skills. As an artist in his own right he brings an approach, a vision, an artistry that challenges us and expands our awareness of what glass is and can do, and Britain and British glass are the richer for his presence.
Michael Robinson - Former curator of Applied Arts Ulster Museum Northern Ireland, UK
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