Seeing many old glass and mirrors thrown on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Gabriel Meranze Levitt (American) picked them up and turned them into artistic decorations.
Gabriel Meranze Levitt (42 years old, US nationality) has lived in Vietnam for 12 years and now runs a social enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City.
Throughout the apartment space in Thao Dien ward (District 2) where his family lives, from the 4 walls to the ceiling, the window frames and the bedroom are decorated with a series of glass works made by himself. present. They are made entirely of pieces of mirrors and broken glass that are discarded on the street. Levitt see you Zing at noon, because this is a short time in the day when the sun shines directly on the glass “Baby” statue hanging on the first floor of the house and creates a beautiful light effect. Gabriel Meranze Levitt decorates his home with artwork made from recycled glass. “I started making glass items three years ago after meeting old friends in Mexico. During the day, they do their main job, at night they indulge in their own hobbies such as painting, music or making crafts. I was startled to realize that creativity is what I lack in life. Back in Vietnam, I accidentally saw many old glass panels being thrown on the street, so I came up with the idea of making works with them,” Levitt shared. Love broken glass “Baby” is a glass work that Levitt inspired by his young daughter. It was a statue of a girl with curly hair dancing. The work weighs about 7 kg, is hung in the corner of the skylight, where the sunlight shines down. “Every time I see my daughter dancing and having fun, I always feel magical. She looks like an angel, full of energy and happiness. I recorded a video, looked closely at her image, and created a work that embodies that spirit. Last Tet holiday, after visiting my wife’s hometown in Tien Giang, I went to Saigon first and focused on finishing as a gift for my children. Levitt took 5 weeks to complete “Baby”. First, he shaped the core of the statue with construction foam, wrapped it with a layer of glass mesh to ensure its sturdiness and limit the shrinkage and expansion of the model when the temperature changed. Finally, glue the mirror pieces on the outermost layer. “Baby” was inspired by Levitt’s image of his lovely daughter. Levitt enjoys talking about the process of making his works. After picking up old glass panels at home, he started to come up with ideas and learn how to cut and grind glass into the desired shape. “I watch many videos on how to work with glasses, but never look for other people’s work. I think when watching and then imitating someone’s work is copying their work, I don’t like that. To this day, I still don’t know if anyone in the world has done the same work as I am doing.” Levitt’s art products sometimes come from improvisation, some come from his concerns about cultural and social issues. The work is called “Storm of Change” inspired by the fight against acute racism in the US. After 3 months, he completed the model and hung it on the ceiling, right in front of the house. The work weighs 15 kg, consists of a cloud (size of 100x50x40 cm) with 3,000 pieces of small square mirrors – symbolizing America as a unified mass – and 130 different colored rain drops, representing the racial diversity, such as whites, blacks, and yellows. Levitt’s latest creation is a table lamp placed in the bedroom. When the lights are turned on, the light reflects through the polished pieces of glass creating an impressive visual effect. The lamp has a height of 106 cm and a weight of 20 kg. Artwork from broken glass of American man. Private world on the rooftop Before moving to Ho Chi Minh City, Levitt lived and worked for an NGO for 3 years in Hanoi for 3 years. In the last year of the project, he met his wife and after only 3 weeks decided to follow her and move to the South. “At first, we just thought about moving here to see if there was an opportunity to stay together for a long time, and also for me to look for something new after my project ended. The love is growing, we now have a little princess. We run a social enterprise together and look for NGO programs to help people in need.” Levitt often spends the evening making products. Recycled glass items have helped him find joy in life, promote creativity and implement many good ideas. The top floor of the house is the “private world” of the American man. The narrow space was lined with collage tools and hundreds of pieces of broken mirrors and glass of all shapes and colors that he had collected over the years. “On the way to work, if I see a piece of glass left behind, I will notice it and come back to bring it home after work. I can’t always find a glass that fits what I want, so I just bring it back and wait until I need it to take it out. I like the patterns and lines of the glass edges after being polished, the light coming on makes them look even more beautiful.” Although it is just a personal hobby, Levitt is always serious and devoted when creating his works. After coming up with an idea for the product, every night after her daughter was asleep, Levitt usually spent about 2 hours working on it. During the day, he has to deal with work, train personnel, at night is when he has absolute focus to do his work. “Not long ago, I had about a week of running out of ideas. Tried so much but couldn’t think of what to do next, I spent some time sitting at a coffee shop thinking and finally coming up with a new idea. For me, making recycled glass is just a personal hobby, but I still need to be serious when pursuing it,” Levitt expressed.
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