Viewing: News

Lino Tagliapietra, Angel Tear, 2011, Blown glass. H 33 3/4, W 22, D 5 1/2 in. collection: henry and sharon martin

Monday June 23, 2014 | by Elena Tafone

OPENING: Survey of contemporary glass debuts at Connecticut art museum

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, Museums, News

A survey exhibition taking stock of the myriad approaches to glass as a medium for contemporary art opened over the weekend at a contemporary art museum in Connecticut. Entitled "Glass Today: 21st Century Innovations" and running through September 21st, 2014, the exhibition at the New Britain Museum of American Art explores where the material is going in terms of approaches to technique, concept, and aesthetics. The current exhibition is allso a follow-up to a 2008 exhibition at the same institution that examined the first 50 years of studio glass, getting a jump on the raft of 2012 exhibitions that covered the same territory.

Students will explore the idea of glass as a liquid in the workshop "Liquid Fusion."

Wednesday June 18, 2014 | by Elena Tafone

Boisbuchet Summer Design Workshop in France offers students hands-on hot glass

FILED UNDER: Education, Events, News

Harkening back to the salons that characterized 17th and 18th century France, Boisbuchet's Summer of Design workshops will run from June 15th through September 13th, bringing together students and teachers from the fields of architecture and design to share share ideas, inspiration, and techniques. Though, instead of the crowded drawing rooms of Enlightenment Paris, this annual series of workshops will be held at Domaine de Boisbuchet, an historic estate in the south-west of France.

Liebold Susan Liola Glu Gruen Violett 2014

Susan Liebold, "LIOLA.GLS", 2014. Under UV light, the photoluminescent glass glows, yet appears clear under white light.

Tuesday June 17, 2014 | by Lindsay von Hagn

EXHIBITION: “Glass Creatures” exhibit features studies of form by Susan Leibold and Mari Meszaros

FILED UNDER: Exhibition, New Work, News

Many glass artists are driven by the subject of water and the worlds encompassed inside of its bodies. In the 19th century, Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka studied and made extensive drawings of specimens they wanted to recreate for university study, and in addition to fruits and flowers, made realistic marine invertebrates from glass. A collection of their invertebrates is housed at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and these extraordinary sculptures can also be seen on a 37-page online gallery on the Cornell website. Years ago, I had the rare opportunity to flamework on the Corning Museum of Glass’s functional replica of the Blaschka’s bellows-operated torch and workbench, managing to only create a small leaf or flower petal with its alcohol-burning flame. The size of the fire the Blaschkas worked with is much smaller than the gas and oxygen burning flame contemporary flameworkers are accustomed to, so I can attest that perfecting this process and completing the collection was no small accomplishment. Assembling these lifelike pieces with that technology in the late 1800s was certainly a labor of love. Though the Blaschkas were eventually contracted to make glass specimen for universities, the initial motivation to make these pieces must have been fueled by relentless inspiration.

Thursday June 12, 2014 | by Elena Tafone

GlassRoots expands program to at-risk youth with new scientific glassblowing apprenticeship

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Education, News

GlassRoots is an organization that devotes itself to fanning the embers of creativity in young people until they burn hot enough to forge bright futures. Since its inception in early 2001, the nonprofit based in Newark, New Jersey has worked to teach at-risk youth the importance of teamwork, self-reliance, and entrepreneurial skills through glassmaking. The discipline required to transform glass into art carries over into other aspects of their lives, giving them the confidence and determination to succeed. The focus has been on glass art, with training in business skills important to careers in the arts but applicable to a wide range of careers. Now, thanks to a generous grant from the Agnes Varis Charitable Trust, this community outreach program will be able to further expand that reach with a new apprenticeship in scientific glassblowing.

Tuesday June 10, 2014 | by Andrew Page

EXHIBITION: Glass exhibition on Bainbridge Island puts the focus on Seattle scene

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, New Work, News, Opening

Through June 30th, 2014, the Bainbridge Arts & Crafts Gallery is hosting "Blown Away, Cast Away," an exhibition curated by GLASS Quarterly contributing editor Victoria Josslin. Featuring the work of Granite Calimpong, Bruce Greek, Janusz Pozniak, Lynn E. Read, Boyd Sugiki, Takuya Tokizawa, and Lisa Zerkowitz, the exhibition combines sculptural and design works in glass.

Using motion capture technology, as well as chronophotography and projection, Harty recreates the silhouettes of Venetian glass forms.

Sunday June 8, 2014 | by Andrew Page

EXHIBITION: Kim Harty’s quest for motion capture informs a wide-ranging body of work

FILED UNDER: Exhibition, New Work, News

The photos are lined up neatly, like a checkerboard, fixed to the wall with binder clips. They feature a blurred figure caught in motion, her arms tracing the lines of sculptures in front of her. This is just one piece by artist Kim Harty, BOLT Resident artist, as she breaks down artmaking frame by frame in her new exhibition "Human Factors." Using motion capture technology, chronophotography, and projection, Harty's pieces seek to record the elusive artistic process and examine the dichotomy between human expression and industrial efficiency. The solo exhibition is on view at the Chicago Artists Coalition throughl Tuesday, June 14. (Disclosure: Kim is the former managing editor of GLASS Quarterly.)

Marie McKee will retire at the end of 2014, after 16 years as president of the Corning Museum of Glass.

Thursday June 5, 2014 | by Elena Tafone

Marie McKee to retire as president of The Corning Museum of Glass, Karol Wight to assume top post

FILED UNDER: Museums, News

After 16 years as president of the Corning Museum of Glass, Marie McKee will retire at the end of this year. Current museum executive director Karol Wight will take on the additional title of president. A newly created position of deputy director of collections and exhibitions will be filled in January 2015 to provide administrative oversight to the expanding museum that will see a new 26,000-square-foot gallery opening this December.

"I Am A Mountain"

Tuesday June 3, 2014 | by Lindsay von Hagn

Jens Pfeifer’s “I Am A Mountain” exhibit at the Chinese European Art Center

FILED UNDER: Exhibition, New Work, News

A three month residency spent exploring the tendency of individuals to become absorbed within their own cultures despite being members of a global society has culminated in Katrin Korfmann and Jens Pfeifer’s exhibition, “I Am A Mountain” at the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen, China.

2013 Visiting Artist Ben Wright leading an open class.

Thursday May 29, 2014 | by Lindsay von Hagn

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Toyama City Institute of Glass Art Seeks 2014 Artist-in-Residence

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Call for Submissions, Education, News

The Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan is now accepting applications for its Artist-in-Residence Program, which will take place later this year from October 20 through November 30, 2014. Located on the northwest coast of Japan, Toyama prides itself on being a "Glass Art City", with the school positioned in a creative environment ideal for studying the craft.

William Morris, Trophy Panel, 2006. This work carries the highest estimate for a glass work, with an expected range of $200,000 to 250,000. courtesy: bonhams

Thursday May 22, 2014 | by Paulina Switniewska

Upcoming Bonhams auction will include many notable glass works from the Koteen’s collection

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Auction, News

As part of Bonhams upcoming 20th Century Decorative Arts auction on June 10th, 2014, there will be a number of significant works in glass from the collection of the late Sherley and Bernard Koteen, prominent Washington D.C.-area art patrons, collectors and board members of the James Renwick Alliance who died within a week of one another in February 2013. Starting at 1 P.M. at Bonhams' New York location on Madison Avenue, works by Judy Kensley McKie, Michael Lucero, Therman Statom, Ruth Duckworth, Rudy Autio, Betty Woodman, Albert Paley, and Dante Marioni will be coming up for bid. Mark Peiser’s paperweight glass vase, titled, Oak and Spanish Moss, will be up for sale at an estimated value of $12,000-18,000. Also present amongst those artists will be several pieces by Dale Chihuly from his Macchia series of glass vessels.

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.