Viewing: News

Andy Paiko, Indefinite Sum #6, 2016. Blown, sculpted, etched, lacquered, mirrored, assembled glass, brass, leather. H 21, W 96, D 12 in. image: kenek photography, courtesy of wexler gallery.

Thursday June 30, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

Ornate assemblage artist Andy Paiko wins Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, News

Artist and designer Andy Paiko — known for his highly intricate, often kinetic, glass fabrications — has received a 2015 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. The biennial juried award grants $20,000 to 30 artists to provide “the opportunity to produce new work, to push the boundaries of their creativity.” If Louis Comfort Tiffany's designs advanced glass lamps and jewelry as art, Andy Paiko has effectively been doing the reverse, provoking us to consider art glass objects as functioning, moving, active utilitarian devices. That very distinction between aesthetic and functional value seems to be a boundary that he seeks to erase.

Helen Lee's gold award-winning work KowTow.

Wednesday June 29, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Helen Lee takes top honors in Emerge 2016, a juried biennial exhibition organized by Bullseye Glass

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, Exhibition, News

Artist and educator (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Helen Lee took the gold prize at "Emerge 2016," the ninth biennial juried exhibition organized by Bullseye Glass. This year's field saw 370 entries, from which 42 finalists were selected by the jury made up of Bellevue Arts Museum curator Stefano Catalani, artist and educator Kim Harty (College of Creative Studies, Detroit), and Art in America contributing editor and educator (Portland State Universty) Sue Taylor. The competition drew submissions from 16 countries, and jurors were instructed to select work that best represented "creativity, craftsmanship, and design" in object-making using Bullseye Glass.

Arts In The Village Dedication Barrys2 2

Richard and Carolyn Barry have donated generously to both Old Dominion University and the Chrysler Museum of Art. courtesy: old dominion university

Tuesday June 28, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

Major Chrysler Museum benefactors donate private collection to nearby university in $35 million gift

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Exhibition, News

Prominent Norfolk, Virginia-area philanthropists Richard and Carolyn Barry, whose names adorn the Chrysler Museum of Art's glass curator position, have just announced that their art collection will be gifted to Old Dominion University in nearby Hampton Roads, Virginia. The Barrys' collection is part of a $35-million gift to the academic institution that is earmarked for the construction of a new museum building to house their collection— which includes over 100 sculptural objects from some of the most prominent Studio Glass artists such as Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, and Harvey Littleton.

Richard Royal's blown glass orbs. courtesy: schantz galleries

Thursday June 23, 2016 | by Sarah Canny

Annual outdoor contemporary sculpture exhibition turns focus to glass for the first time

FILED UNDER: Exhibition, New Work, News, Opening

When art dealer Jim Schantz was given the opportunity to curate the first all-glass exhibition at the annual contemporary and experimental sculpture show at the grounds of the historic Chesterwood, a Stockbridge, Massachussets, landmark, he saw an opportunity to push some of the leading glass artists he represents into new territory — environmental artwork. “It was an opportunity for them to realize their visions and perhaps work outside their comfort zone,” Schantz says in an email exchange with the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet. He reached out to artists Martin Blank, Peter Bremers, Nancy Callan, William Carlson, Daniel Clayman, Sidney Hutter, Richard Jolley, John Kiley, Thomas Patti, Kait Rhoads, Richard Royal, and Thomas Scoon, some of whom were well-acquainted with the challenges of exhibiting work outdoors, while others had never done so before. The result is the exhibiton "The Nature of Glass," which will remain on view through September 18, 2016.

Sunday June 19, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Reporter shatters misconception of fragility on longest glass footbridge set to open in China

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Design, News, Video

It would take extraordinary strength to breach three sheets of glass laminated together with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), yet high-profile structural applications, such as high-altitude footbridges in China, continue to awe the public who associate glass with fragility and a tendency to shatter. In an effort to dispell this unwarranted fear of walking on glass, a BBC reporter was invited to try to break a structural glass panel shortly before the opening of the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge, which is expected to open in July 2016 in Zhangjiajie, China.

Laura Donefer revels in the love her fashion show unleashes in the glass community. photo: dave hickie

Wednesday June 15, 2016 | by Andrew Page

GALLERY: Four-years-in-the-making, Laura Donefer’s glass fashion show at Corning GAS raises the bar

FILED UNDER: Image Gallery, New Work, News

Since her very first glass fashion show in Toronto in 1989, artist Laura Donefer has been cajoling artists to don costumes celebrating their imaginations and their material, which they then parade before an adoring crowd of fellow artists. For the closing-night party of the 2016 Glass Art Society conference last Saturday night, Donefer pulled out all the stops, memorializing the late rock stars Prince and David Bowie in a tightly choreographed sequence of moveable art and music as artists walked the catwalk set up at The Corning Museum of Glass auditorium. Because of the massive crowd of attendees, and a limit of 800 seats in the auditorium, there were two shows for the first time in the 27-year history of Donefer's productions. While the fashion extravaganza generates massive amounts of excitement, attention, and affection for Donefer, the Canadian artist says the epic event does not directly link up with her personal art practice.

Gallery Elena Lee

Tuesday June 7, 2016 | by Sarah Canny

Taking on new partners, a Montreal glass gallery finds a connection to a younger generation

FILED UNDER: News

Elena Lee, owner of the longtime Montreal gallery that bears her name, recently turned 74 years old. Aware of a new set of skills needed for success in the new world of social media, as well as the ever-growing number of galleries closing, Lee recently decided to take on two co-owners to help share her workload and finances. Her plan is to sell Elena Lee, but first, she must pass on her knowledge, expertise, and collection to her new partners. Florie Guerin and Pierre Boudreau are two young devotees of glass, well versed in the realm of art, ready to take on the flaming torch that Elena is eventually planning on handing them.

Lino Tagliapietra, Osaka, 2011. Blown glass. H 20 1/4 in. courtesy: heller gallery

Tuesday May 31, 2016 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: Lino Tagliapietra at Heller Gallery on Thursday

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, News, Opening

On Thursday evening, Heller Gallery will welcome maestro Lino Tagliapietra, who plans to attend the evening reception to kick off a month-long New York City exhibition of his work entitled "Celebrazione!" From June 2 through July 15, this gallery in the heart of the art scene in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood will feature a range of richly patterned sculptural vessels that showcase Tagliapietra's complex use of cane and murini to create bold abstract compositions on glass surfaces.

Anna Mlasowksky

Tuesday May 31, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Anna Mlasowsky awarded the second Corning Museum specialty-glass artist residency for 2016

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, Museums, News

A unique artist residency that offers access to industrial glasses and processes not usually available to artists, the Corning Museum of Glass Specialty Glass Artists-in-Residence for 2016 has expanded since Albert Paley's inaugural residency in 2014, and Tom Patti's in 2015. Earlier this year, Toots Zynsky was awarded this sought-after opportunity for 2016. Today, Corning announced the recipient of the second residency offered in 2016, this one going to German native Anna Mlasowsky who has already developed a reputation as an artist pushing the material in new technical and conceptual directions. Her residency is set to begin in late June and continue through the end of 2016.

A spread from the cover article on Martin Janecky in the Summer 2016 edition of GLASS (#143).

Sunday May 22, 2016 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: GLASS #143, Summer 2016

FILED UNDER: Announcements, News, Print Edition

The Summer 2016 edition of GLASS: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#143) is hitting newsstands and subscriber mailboxes next week. It comes bundled with the just-published 2016 edition of New Glass Review (#37), a special subscriber bonus at no additonal charge (the special GLASS plus New Glass Review bundle is also available at select newsstands, but at a higher cover price). Gracing the cover of the new edition of GLASS is a striking work by hot sculptor Martin Janecky, who has built on the advances of William Morris and his collaborative team, and added his own techniques to take three-dimensional glass into portraiture, with new levels of detail and precision. Students flock to Janecky’s classes, awed by his ability to sculpt full-scale human busts in real time, statues emerging magically while the glass is still hot on the pipe. Contributing editor John Drury experiences the magic by sitting for a portrait by the rising Czech star as part of his research for this article, which examines how Janecky is moving into more complex rendering of human form while developing a rationale for his highly realistic approach.

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.