A stream of pop, water and other throw-away bottles spills out of a tipped-over metal, cage-style garbage can at the entry to "Glass Birthday Suit."

	On display in the "Glass Birthday Suit" at the Pittsburgh Glass Center is "Firstborn," by Donna Powers. Click photo for larger image.

Poor housekeeping by the Pittsburgh Glass Center? No, look again. It's an artwork -- "damn squirrels!" -- by Matthew Eskuche that combines humor, environmental commentary and technical expertise.

Eskuche relies on the viewer's familiarity with the ubiquitous and readily identifiable shapes to make this exceptional piece work. At first glance, it's the plastic that we see discarded daily by the can-full, some of it typically squashed to save container room. But, curiously, none of the bottles have labels. And closer inspection reveals that they're all made of glass.

The piece becomes a prodding reminder that such bottles once would have been made of recyclable glass instead of a nonbiodegradable product that swells landfills and the raw material for which is the object of global diplomatic conflict. That they were flame-worked is all the more remarkable.

Eskuche is one of 56 artists in this annual exhibition that struts the achievements of PGC faculty and staff. Other displayed works range from conceptual pieces in which the nature of the medium takes a secondary role, such as Lindsay O'Leary's pointed exploration of local race relations, "The Elephant in the Room," to handsome functional work that celebrates glass's dazzling beauty, as in the fused and slumped platters by Jeffrey Phelps ("Canary Tweed") and Scott Aiken ("Pittsburgh Pride") and Suzie Ririe's blown "Cowboy Series" vessel forms with sandblasted Western imagery.

"Water Lily" by Gary Guydosh Click photo for larger image.

Three notable works are products of the casting studio, one of four fully equipped spaces that allow artists a choice of expression and technique. Donna Powers' "Firstborn" -- a piece of clothing from a baby's layette reproduced to fine detail in pastel glass -- projects a mixture of winsomeness and unease. Sungsoo Kim transforms mundane objects into the intriguing, minimalist sculptures "Rediscovery 0610" and "Rediscovery 0520." The latter, for example, comprises two unevenly matched stacks of geometric forms cast in blue glass from Styrofoam packing elements.

Eight jewelers are exhibiting, with the necklaces of Leslie Kaplan's "Weird Botany" series particularly worthy of attention.

Sam Laffey's and Nathan Shaulis' "Vital Signs: Celebrating 5 Years" was inspired by the PGC's fifth anniversary this year. The artists cut and engraved seven copper-tube- framed glass panels with scenes that depict glass artists at work. The shadows they cast onto bright blue cloths beneath them resemble drawings and add another dimension to the work.

An early goal of the PGC was to earn a national and international reputation for its state-of-the-art, green facility and to simultaneously convey to far-flung audiences the attractions of post-industrial Pittsburgh. This it has achieved, in no small part through the more than 3,600 students who've taken classes and workshops.

Perhaps less expected was its ability to draw new residents: Twenty-five glass artists have moved here to be near the facility.

As one of the three founding organizations of "Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass!" (with Phipps and the Carnegie), the PGC next presents "Allure of Japanese Glass" (opening May 4). It also will host the Glass Art Society's annual international conference in June, will present a free summer lecture series featuring national and international artists, and offer hot glass demonstrations during open houses throughout the year.

"Suit" continues through Saturday at 5472 Penn Ave., Friendship. Admission is free. For information, call 412-365-2145 or visit www.pittsburghglasscenter.org.

Glass + Food

Look for eight food-related functional sculptures by Pittsburgh Glass Center artists at Whole Foods Market in East Liberty, including a green pea-pod-shaped platter and a stemmed container with glass cheese wedge. The store purchased the artwork and will display it through the summer, part of the yearlong citywide celebration of glass. Whole Foods will donate 5 percent of today's sales to the Glass Center.

'Radical Riffs'

Katharina Klement, Lynn Book and Eden McNutt will perform in the latest installment of "Radical Riffs: Contemporary Music Series" at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's SPACE gallery, 812 Liberty Ave., Downtown, at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The evening will include an improvised trio performance by the (respectively) Austrian pianist/composer, Wake Forest University performance artist and "experimental singer," and Pittsburgh "sound poet." Also included will be "Regarding Next," a project designed to "inspire the radical imagining necessary to create a more humane and vibrant global culture" that originated with Book and debuted at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Suggested donations at the door are $6, $4 student; 412-325-7723.