Bee Kingdom: "Iconoclasts in Glass"

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"FreedomCo Series - Timber Wolf, Gay Bomb, Birdie, Blossom Bomb, Golden Boy"

Phillip Bandura, "FreedomCo Series - Timber Wolf, Gay Bomb, Birdie, Blossom Bomb, Golden Boy."

Exuberant and colourful, but also hip and, at times, subversive, the work of Calgary - based collective Bee Kingdom confound ideas of what constitutes fine art glass.

This adventurous collective, which operates out of a backyard in northwest Calgary, was conceived by three graduates of the Alberta College of Art and Design glass program: Ryan Fairweather, Phillip Bandura and Timothy Belliveau. They chose the name "Bee Kingdom" for both their communal approach to art and the similarity between hot glass in its liquid form and honey.

The Bees have created quite the buzz since their inception with their whimsical glass forms that are loaded with commentary on subjects as diverse as environmental issues, sexual identity and pop culture.