CONVERSATION: Curator Davira S. Taragin on her exhibition "Look What Harvey Did" at the Chazen Museum of Art in Wisconsin

The Chazen Museum of Art, which originally opened on the University of Wisconsin's Madison campus in 1970, is home to 24,000 works in its permanent collection, ranging from ancient Greek to modern African. In 2005, the museum was renamed after a major gift from university alumni Simona and Jerome Chazen (1927 - 2002), which allowed for a significant expansion when a second museum building opened in 2011. Running through August 16, 2024, is an exhibition of 40 works from the patrons' glass works. Titled "Look What Harvey Did! Harvey K. Littleton's Legacy in the Simona and Jerome Chazen Collection of Studio Glass," the exhibition spans 60 years and includes works from Michael Aschenbrenner, Dale Chihuly, Daniel Clayman, Dan Dailey, Clifford Rainey, Ginny Ruffner, and Lino Tagliapietra, among others. The exhibition was curated by Davira S. Taragin, who spoke to the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet by telephone about how she approached the project.

Tuesday January 30, 2024 | by Andrew Page

Judith Schaechter reflects on receiving the 2024 Smithsonian Visionary Award

On its website, the Smithsonian Women's Committee prominently lists its motto as: "Harnessing the Power of Women to Make a Difference." This group of Smithsonian supporters has certainly made a difference for artists working in glass at all levels. The SWC organizes the annual high-profile Smithsonian Craft Show (as well as an autumn show of wearable crafts), and also makes direct grants to Smithsonian-affiliated institutions. Each year, the SWC also presents its Smithsonian Visionary Awards, which over the years has gone to some of the most prominent artists working in craft materials such as Dale Chihuly, David Ellsworth, Joyce J. Scott, Albert Paley, Toots Zynsky, Faith Ringgold, and Patti Warashina, among others. in 2024, the award was given to two artists who work primarily in glass -- Judith Schaechter and Dan Dailey.

Friday January 26, 2024 | by Andrew Page

IN MEMORIAM: Glass collector and major philanthropist Sheldon Palley (1933 - 2024) passes away at the age of 90

Sheldon Palley -- businessman, art collector, and philanthropist - passed away on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at the age of 90. He died less than four years after the death of Myrna, his wife of 63 years. Though Palley grew up in Detroit, Michigan, he made Miami, Florida, his home for 75 years. It was while studying for his law degree at the Univesrity of MIami that he met Myrna, who had graduated with a bachelor's degree in education and was teaching art at a junior high school at the time they met.

Thursday January 25, 2024 | by Andrew Page

Phase One of The Corning Studio renovation opens to the public with new facilities and resources for education and the general public

A week or so before Christmas, The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass reopened its doors to the public, offering visitors entering the new marquee entrance a gleaming new reception desk and facilities for the museum's popular Make Your Own Glass activities. A bank of brand-new sandblasting machines were arranged beside tall crafting tables, where visitors could apply various resists to create a custom design. Assisted glassblowing activities have been expanded thanks to the new modular areas where benches are set up, available to museumgoers or professionals depending on the time of year.

Helen Lee portrait. photo: kaleb autman

Tuesday January 23, 2024 | by Andrew Page

Helen Lee named 2024 United States Artist Fellow, recieves a $50k unrestricted award

Helen Lee, an artist, designer, and educator who heads the glass program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has just been announced as a 2024 United States Artist Fellow. Lee will join 50 other artists, who range from architects to choreographers, and who hail from 22 American states as well as Puerto Rico, as one of those "selected for their artistic vision, contributions to the field, and potential impact of the award on their practice," according to the USArtists press release announcing the 2024 United States Artist fellows.

Wednesday January 3, 2024 | by Andrew Page

As 2023 turns to 2024, join us for a look back at the Year in Glass

Join us as we take a short spin back in time to the highlights of our coverage in 2023, and thank our subscribers for their support.

Curator Jabari Owens-Bailey

Tuesday December 19, 2023 | by Andrew Page

CONVERSATION: Curator Jabari Owens-Bailey on his exhibition "A Two-Way Mirror" at the Museum of Glass

Used in everything from surveillance windows to the infinity boxes of artist Josiah McElheny, a "two-way mirror" is defined by Merriam Webster as "a piece of glass that is a mirror on one side but that can be seen through like a window from the other side." For curator Jabari Owens-Bailey, who titled the exhibition he organized at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma "A Two-Way Mirror," the term is a reference to W.E.B. Du Bois's concept of "Double Consciousness," which refers to the Black experience in America. Specifically, it refers to the divided consciousness between how one sees oneself, and the simultaneous awareness of how one is being perceived by the world, something that develops from living in a racially divided American society. As Du Bois put it in his groundbreaking 1903 essay collection The Souls of Black Folk, it's "measuring oneself by the means of a nation that looked back in contempt."

Tuesday November 21, 2023 | by Andrew Page

The Winter 2023 edition of Glass (#173), with a major glass-art project at Apple HQ on the cover, is overflowing with extras

The upcoming Winter 2023 edition of Glass (#173), will arrive bundled with Corning's New Glass Review #43. It will also include our fully updated 2024 guide to glass education and suppliers to the field. These bonuses are included at no extra charge to subscribers, though there will be a slightly higher cover price if purchased on the newsstand.

Wednesday November 8, 2023 | by Andrew Page

CONVERSATION: Contributing editor Samantha De Tillio on winning the 2023 Lois Moran Award for Craft Writing

Samantha De Tillio. a contributing editor to Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly and an independent curator, has been recognized for her outstanding article on glass performances of the late 20th and early 21st century, which was published in the Summer 2023 edition of Glass (#171). De Tillio was named a recipient of the 2023 Lois Moran Award for Craft Writing in an announcement that cited the original interviews and archival research she conducted for the article entitled “Live Glass at the Turn of the Millennium: The Performance Troupe."

Thursday October 5, 2023 | by Andrew Page

John Miller goes big for solo exhibition at a Florida Art Museum

When John Miller was in kindergarten, meals with his motorcycle-dealer Dad at a drive-in diner left a lasting imprint on him. Everything from the fast food served in generous portions to the automobile culture of the era, where people came as much to eat as to show off their gas-guzzling 1970s cars, imprinted themselves in Miller's mind. Years later, as an undergraduate student of glass art at Southern Connecticut State University, he found himself sketching crinkle-cut french fries in sculpture class no matter the assignment. Bubbling up was inspiration in his memories of a by-gone era of indulgence. He's far from the first to revel in turning everyday objects into monumental pop-art sculptures, but to Miller, these seemingly whimsical objects are freighted with meaning.

Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly, a glossy art magazine published four times a year by UrbanGlass has provided a critical context to the most important artwork being done in the medium of glass for more than 40 years.