To see art in a regular gallery setting is one thing. To view it in an expansive and impressive mezzanine of a 28-story office tower downtown is quite another.

In "Contemporary Hot Glass Oahu," the glass works of University of Hawaii art professor Rick Mills and his students, both former and current, are displayed throughout the second-floor lobby of Bishop Square’s Pau­ahi Tower, an open, airy, high-ceilinged space particularly conducive to showing art.

"The work represented is as varied as the individuals who make it," Mills said. "Students who come to the program are each exposed to traditional and historical techniques, and there’s a whole new generation of glass artists that are coming out that are pioneering new technologies and materials in expressing themselves."

Geoff Lee, who has his own "hot shop," Island Glassworks in Kailua, has rendered a stunning pair of solid sculpted "Glass Waves: Backdoor and Pipeline" that capture the force and power of breaking surf. Scott Fizel’s "Man O’ War" is a large, wall-mounted piece that uses the technique of pyrography, or using controlled heat to burn imagery into wood or other materials. Fizel presents a panel of plywood painted red-brown that’s adorned with a burned gold, half-circle sun on top and black glass tendrils extending downward.

"Glass artists … (work) hard to learn their techniques," Mills said. "It’s a challenging medium but ultimately rewarding. It can incur a terrific amount of expense, and it takes a special person to be that resilient and dedicated to the art. And compared to other visual arts, glass artists have to work as a team with assistants in heating, blowing and molding glass.

"Glass is a provocative and evocative material to use."

And it’s "sexy," added David Behlke, curator of the Pau­ahi Tower space and also director of the Koa Gallery at Kapiolani Community College. "It’s all dependent on light, and in the right hands a well-conceived piece can seduce visually."

A case in point are the window displays of three pieces by Bud Spindt, collectively titled "Aurora Tropicalis." Spindt’s blown multicolored glass pieces are lit from within and placed on wood bases.

"Something like Bud’s work can take you places like a good novel. You feel like you can wish for a genie to appear. Viewed 360 degrees in a gallery or home setting, and placed in the right spot, the glow of the inner light can be magical," Behlke said.

Both Behlke and Mills have pieces in the exhibit as well. Behlke uses mixed media on canvas on his two works, "In the Garden" and "Moby Dick," while Mills offers up "Narcissus Botanical," blown and solid-formed glass with an acid finish in bright yellow, orange and red hues.

Mills calls the show a "win-win situation" for the artists and building owner Doug­las Emmett, not to mention folks who work nearby, since "not a lot of professional workers get to see artwork during the week, so I’m glad they have this opportunity."

The show also gives exposure to the school’s glass program.

"Glass blowing has been done at the university for 25 to 30 years, and it’s good to get the word out," Mills said.

"It takes a long time, sometimes 10 to 15 years out of school, to make a living at this. And these artists have so much potential and talent that it’s good to see their work shown in alternative spaces like Pau­ahi Tower. With more working spaces outside of the university’s … it’s not necessary for them to move away from Hawaii, and the possibility of interchange and exchange becomes that much better."

With the success of this glass exhibit, Behlke says there are more art shows to come at Pauahi Tower. The next one slated is a quilt and craft show for the holidays.