h 59.2, w 44.8 cm
Purchased by Leeds City Art Galleries with the aid of an MGC/V&A purchase grant, 1994
Koenig spent over 30 years of her working life in the factories around
the St Mary Cray area of Kent. Glassworks was produced following a
period of time between 1982-85 spent in the United Glass Containers
factory, manufacturers of small glass jars. Koenig's own working
methods reflect the activities of the workers she chose as her
subject-matter. She would spend about 3 months working alongside the
factory workers, producing sketchbook after sketchbook of drawings,
imposing a strict routine on herself that mirrored the time-keeping
and regular activities of the workers around her. She would then
return to the studio to spend up to 18 months working these sketches
up into large-scale scrolls, from which she would then produce
terracotta or bronze sculptures.
