Josh Raiffe is a Brooklyn-based glass artist known for his innovative creations that blur the lines between art and fashion. Born into a family of toy designers and inventors, Raiffe continues the family tradition of bringing joy through creativity, but with his unique medium of hot glass.
Raiffe’s passion for self-expression drives his artistic process. He creates in a space where emotion and instinct take precedence over language and rationality. His work is primarily inspired by personal relationships and emotions such as love, conflict, anger, and intimacy.
Raiffe’s glass works have gained popularity among celebrities, with pieces owned by Dojacat, Kylie Jenner, JT, Beth Dewoody, Olivia Song, and Snoop Dogg. His glass bags have been featured in high-profile events, including Coperni’s A/W 2022 fashion show.
Despite his celebrity clientele, Raiffe creates art to be enjoyed by the masses. He hopes people will use his work to express themselves, adorning their spaces and bodies with objects that resonate with them.
Josh Raiffe continues to push the boundaries of glass art, creating pieces that evoke emotion and challenge the traditional perceptions of glass as a medium. His unique blend of art and fashion has established him as a rising star in the contemporary glass art scene. Credit: habatatgalleries.com
Is there a color you return to again and again?
There are a few colors that look best in glass. Pinks, rubys, purples, blues and greens. Black glass is also exceptionally beautiful. Clear crystal is almost spiritually beautiful. There’s nothing there but the entire world. But my favorite is enamel white very close to the surface with a thin layer of clear on top. It’s so sterile, it’s almost unnaturally clean. It’s very beautiful but also a little unnerving.
Can you walk us through your inner process when choosing and combining colors?
I used to go with super high contrast. Mixing darks and lights; opaque and transparents, complementary colors. But now I’m not into subtle differences and fades. I’ll do a copper blue with a cobalt blue. Or a purple with a darker purple. This is gentler on the eye. When I want to shock, that’s when I’ll pull out the black and white or the purple and yellow.
If you could co-create with any artist, living or not, who would it be—and what kind of visual conversation would you want your collaboration to spark?
I’d love to collaborate with MSCHF. I have an idea but there’s a twist. I don’t want to give it away in case I can make it happen. But it’s a piece about ownership and motherhood.
Where do you most often encounter color that surprises or moves you?
The sky is a ridiculously beautiful canvas that we neglect almost every day. Also flowers can be totally nuts. Or gasoline spilled on the road. Oh! And bugs.
How do you consciously bring color into your everyday world, beyond your work?
I like to talk to strangers. Or to do nice things for random people. This brings a lot of beautiful color to my life. Sometimes I’ll make a salad and try to use as many colors as I can find in the grocery store
Are there rituals or choices that help amplify your color experience?
I suppose the idea of attention as a virtue can be a really powerful mindset to inhabit. It’s so easy to get lost in your own head and not pay attention to the world around you. How often do you talk to yourself and replay conversations you’ve had in the past instead of just looking and listening to the world.
Your color choices feel intentional—what symbolism do they carry for you?
No direct symbolism. Sometimes I’ll use a fleshy color if I’m going to an animalistic vibe or if I’m trying to convey life. I’ll often use celestial colors like blues and purples because I think space is the closest thing we’ve got to the mind.
Is there a color approach that you’re curious to explore?
There is such a beautiful world of browns out there that I haven’t really explored. Browns seem so terrestrial so I’ve avoided them in the past but sometimes simple small things can be extremely profound.