Born in 1983, Kiva Ford currently resides and serves as the manager of the Scientific Glass Shop at Notre Dame University, in South Bend, Indiana, a position he has held since 2014. Ford's passion with glass began early in life, and was anchored with his college degree in Scientific Glassblowing. Through years of work creating complex glass instruments for scientific use, he has perfected his precision and technique in manipulating glass. In recent years, Ford has fabricated glass for a particle detector to be used in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland, a crucial part of the process for the next stage of particle physics. He has been actively engaged in supporting cutting-edge radiation research, contributed to the development of optical cells for dark matter research, and designed innovative apparatus for groundbreaking cancer studies. His role involves effectively bridging the gap between their research goals and the design and manufacturing of necessary equipment, translating their hypotheses into tangible realities.
Beyond the scientific community, Ford is more commonly known for his sculptural vessels, often integrating endangered animals. Kiva's artistic work is influenced by his interests in history, mythology, and the natural world.
Ford is renown for his technical abilities in scientific and artistic glass. He channels his passions for science and art through his sculpture to great acclaim and has been celebrated for his work in The New York Times, Art in America, Scientific American, The Guardian, and The Huffington Post.
Ford has exhibited with Chesterfield Gallery at Sotheby’s, the SCOPE Art Show during Art Basel in Miami, the Architectural Digest Design Show in New York, The Salon Art + Design in New York, SOFA Expo in Chicago, and museum exhibitions at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Connecticut, Corning Museum of Glass in New York, Jersey City Museum in New Jersey, and South Bend Art Museum in Indiana.
With all of Ford's many accomplishments, he remains a rising star of his generation and continues to work on glass to this day.