When it comes to collaborations for events that bring massive amounts of art to as many people as possible, no one does it better in D.C. than the folks at Artomatic. Expanding out from their (now annual) giant art fair of the same name, Artomatic has joined with the D.C. Government, the Georgetown Business Improvement District, three artist organizations from different cities, and their host venue, the Shops at Georgetown Park to execute Glass3, which opened last night.

The show features nearly 50 glass artists from Washington, D.C, Toledo, Ohio, and Sunderland, England. Though we'll get to the actual art in a minute, this show is about a lot more than that. For its part, Toledo is the "birthplace of the studio glass movement"; glass plays an enormous role in both art and manufacturing in the town. While Sunderland is actually one of our eleven Sister Cities around the world; it has ties to George Washington's family dating back to the 12th century, and — what do you know — is home to a tradition of glass art going back to the 1600s. Artomatic teamed up with D.C.'s Office of the Secretary, which runs the Sister City program, to bring the Cohesion Artists of Sunderland on board. The hope is that working together to organize events like this, artists from different schools of thought will meet and share ideas, art viewers will get a chance to see highly respected international work, and in the long run, these partnerships will result in sustainable relationships that impact both towns artistically and economically — such as in utilizing unoccupied commercial space, as this show does.

But does all of this lovey-dovey, hands-around-the-world stuff translate into a good art show? In this case, definitely. Glass work has always faced a tough challenge being accepted as "fine art" and not "a bunch of bowls and vases you find at the craft fair." And if anyone can make you change your mind, its the artists from Sunderland. Some of the artists are actually experts in glass theory with Ph.Ds and have developed techniques that not only create beautiful art, but have revolutionized architecture and other uses for the medium.

Vanessa Culter is one of those artists. She uses waterjet technology to create pitch-perfect cuts and holes in glass. Her two pieces (one pictured above) in the show are both minimalist in nature, using square, clear glass plates about a few feet across that feature tiny waterjet blown holes in a grid, each hole about an inch a part. The effect is that of a scientifically measured microchip, stripped of its wires. Another Sunderland artist, Eileen Leatherland, presents work that is far more interesting than the "platters" they purport to be: each glass plate consists of a "secret compound" that expands during kiln fusing so that the plates look blown from the inside.

The interesting part about this gathering of artists is seeing, as a viewer, how apparent it is that there are three distinct schools of thought under one roof. Sunderland clearly has a hold of the "technology is beauty" school, emphasizing their firm grasp of advanced techniques to make even benign shapes come to life. D.C., on the other hand, represented by the Washington Glass School, tends towards narrative artwork, featuring portraits and scenes that beg a backstory.

Michael Janis' large piece, If I Could Be Who You Wanted, consists of four clear glass boxes stacked about five feet high. He uses his signature sgraffito style to create photographic-like images by fusing glass dust on the sides of the structure. This piece features a nude woman on one side and a man on the other, with a few extra floating body parts -- a hand, eye, and heart -- on the unused side panels. At certain angles the people and parts are clear and unobstructed, but change your viewing position an inch and the images suddenly tangle together as they stack on top of each other through the boxes. The effect is a clever (if somewhat sappy) narrative on relationships.

Other Washington Glass School artists include Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers. Tate's work (pictured left) is well-recognized already, and its worth it to see his work here, as his meaningful vessels have evolved to include electronics and moving parts. Timmers is our local purveyor of "green art," using recycled glass in his work, which you can read more about from our interview with him last year. As art, his work treads a fine line between fascinating, with the effects from his unique materials, and a little cutesy. The One That Got Away being a perfect example; the wall panel of fused recycled glass is ballooned out in four or five places, with neon lights behind each spot, except one, where the glass has "burst" and the light seems to have floated away.

Where Sunderland is the clean professional brother, D.C. the colorful storytelling uncle, Toledo seems to be the redheaded stepchild. Perhaps its an extreme reaction to living in a town where glass is largely used for practical manufacturing purposes, but almost as a whole, this group's work is lacking in sophistication, leaning towards quirky figurines and an easy laugh. Sushi On a Skateboard. I think that says it all. (View Sunderland's James Maskrey's work on the second floor for a well deserved laugh — his one-eyed alien figures eating puzzle pieces and "watching plates" are hilariously adorable and slick looking to boot.)

Glass3 runs through March 8 and is located on the lower level of The Shops at Georgetown Park at 3222 M Street. Use the Wisconsin Avenue entrance; the gallery is the first shop on your right. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 12 to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 12 to 6 p.m.

Images of work by Vanessa Cutler and Tim Tate courtesy Artomatic