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Jacob Fishman, It Is What It Is. Neon. courtesy: bergstrom mahler museum of glass.

Wednesday December 7, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

The Bergstrom-Mahler’s neon exhibition taps into the special allure of sculpture that glows

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Exhibition, Museums

There's something magnetic about neon. An object emitting light attracts the eye, no doubt the main reason neon has been so popular for so long as a medium for commercial signs. Executive director of Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass Jan Smith thinks this provides a special opportunity for neon art. "A sense of familiarity with its history in signage gives people an entry point," she told the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet, "and the journey into the sculptural realm takes them into a surprisingly new dimension." The museum hopes to guide visitors on that journey with "Bending Brilliance," a neon and plasma group exhibition currently on display through February 19th, 2017.

The Toyama City Institute of Glass Art hot shop.

Tuesday December 6, 2016 | by Andrew Page

HELP WANTED: Toyama glass department seeks associate professor of hot working for 2-year contract

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Help Wanted

The Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Toyama, Japan, is seeking a hot work professor or associate professor for a contract position. Applicants must have at least 10 years of experience, hold a degree in fine arts or glass, and either currently teach or work primarily as a practicing artist. The advertised position will run from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2019, with the possibility of an additional two years.

Thursday December 1, 2016 | by Andrew Page

It’s Official: 2018 Glass Art Society Conference to be held in Murano, Italy

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Events, News

UPDATED 01/10/2017 For it's 47th annual conference, the Glass Art Society is going overseas for the first time since the 2005 Adelaide, Australia, conference sent intrepid artists on long-haul flights Down Under. The 2018 event is set to take place in Murano, Italy, from May 16th through 20th, a notably longer duration than recent conferences, which have been three-day affairs. Led by Lino Tagliapietra, the conference steering committee for 2018 includes Cesare Toffolo, Lucio Bubacco, Davide Salvadore, Marina Tagliapietra, Roberto Donà, Adriano Berengo, and the Consorzio Promovetro Murano, an association of craft and industrial businesses in Venice dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Murano’s artistic glass and centuries of history.

Wednesday November 30, 2016 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: GLASS #145, Winter 2016-17

FILED UNDER: News, Print Edition

The Winter 2016-17 edition of GLASS (#145) is hitting newsstands and subscriber mailboxes this week. The four feature articles explore different aspects of the profound transition affecting glass art and design. Whether it's the aging of a loyal collector base that sustained its growth for decades; new technologies competing with, if not displacing, hot glass studios as the showpieces of college and university art departments; or the steady march of globalization finally encroaching on the price points at the high end of design, GLASS brings you unique insights into the changing dynamics of the field.

The Bousilles, or Whimseys in English, were a collection of factory worker experiments made in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Tuesday November 29, 2016 | by Andrew Page

MusVerre, a new glass museum in Northern France

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Museums, News, Opening

While the conversion of a former glass factory into a museum is not in itself unusual, the recently expanded MusVerre celebrates a peculiarly touching history. Beginning as a 1967 exhibition of curiosity pieces made by factory glassblowers in the 19th and early-20th centuries, the project of MusVerre reached new heights with its grand reopening in a new building designed by Raphaël Voinchet and W-Architectures earlier this month in Sars-Poteries, France. The inauguration is being celebrated with an exhibition by Ann Veronica Janssens, a Belgian artist whose “relevance, power and poetry... recurrent use of glass as a material and the very particular fit of the “wide-angle” space [of the new museum] to her work made this invitation an obvious choice,” for the museum’s curators.

An image of the largest fair for glass art work taken during SOFA CHICAGO 2015. photo: kate jordan

Tuesday November 22, 2016 | by Mary Roll

RED DOT REPORT: What sold at SOFA CHICAGO 2016

FILED UNDER: Art Market, Events, News

In the gallery above, the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet presents its annual "Red Dot Report," surveying works that sold at the SOFA CHICAGO art fair in early November. With the Chicago Cubs historic World Series win, and their celebratory parade the following Friday impeding access to Navy Pier, this year's SOFA got mixed reviews from exhibiting dealers. Maurine Littleton, owner of Maurine Littleton Gallery, in Washington, D.C. said that while this year's fair was better than last year, the pre-election contentious political climate and the Cubs crowds weren't helpful to sales. While the overall the fair was okay, it didn't match the really strong SOFA she had in 2014, said Littleton, adding that the two subsequent years have fallen flat. Kurt Nelson, owner of Palette Contemporary Art and Craft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said that while the show was big enough this year, there was so much work in glass that it seemed almost saturated.

Cover of 'Chihuly Faxes,' available now through Chihuly Workshop. courtesy: chihuly workshop.

Tuesday November 22, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

BOOK REPORT: Dale Chihuly: Fax Machine

FILED UNDER: Book Report

Faxes may have given way to email, but contemporary technology was an integral part of Dale Chihuly’s artistic practice throughout the 1990s. Now, a new book entitled Chihuly’s Faxes compiles 130 of these faxes hand-picked from an archive of 7,500. Treated as a medium for design ideation and instant communication, Chihuly’s faxes are described by lauded novelist, essayist, and critic, Francine Prose as “dreams about art.” Prose, a former president of PEN American Center, has written a foreword to the book, and her essay includes an analysis of “technology’s role in communicating bold ideas.” The new book is available now through Chihuly Workshop.

A pinhole camera self-portrait of United States Artist fellow April Surgent from her artist website.

Saturday November 19, 2016 | by Andrew Page

April Surgent named 2016 United States Artists Fellow, to receive unrestricted $50,000 award

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, News

The prestigious fellowship awarded annually by the organization United States Artists seeks to identify the most accomplished and innovative artists working in a variety of fields, and reward their efforts through an unrestricted $50,000 award. With the recent announcement of 2016 fellows, engraver April Surgent joins artists Einar de la Torre & Jamex de la Torre, Beth Lipman, Sibylle Peretti, Judith Schaechter, Joyce J. Scott, Mary Shaffer, and Therman Statom as artists working with glass to be recognized for this top honor.

Newly hired chief advancement officer James Gerhardt signals a new fundraising push by the museum to finance ambitious new initiatives.

Thursday November 17, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Looking to diversify its funding sources, The Corning Museum hires high-level development officer

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Museums, News

Since its founding in 1951, The Corning Museum of Glass has been funded primarily by its major benefactor, Corning Inc. Now, the Corning, New York, institution has announced a high-level appointment on the development side that reveals its bid to diversify its sources of unearned income. With a number of as-yet-unnamed expansion plans set to follow the March 2015 opening of its $64-million North Wing, the museum that lays claim to "the world's best collection of art and historical glass" is revving up its fundraising engines. James Gerhardt, who will hold the title of chief advancement officer at the museum, brings extensive non-profit fundraising experience to the post, including a recent stint in Philadelphia as the chief advancement officer at the National Museum of American Jewish History, which opened in 2012. What makes Gerhardt's newly created position at Corning significant is that unlike previous development positions at Corning, he will play a role on the institution's leadership team when he starts on November 30, 2016.

Sunday October 30, 2016 | by Andrew Page

BOOKS: Laura Donefer’s 2016 Glass Fashion Show immortalized in print

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Book Report

If you missed Laura Donefer's 2016 Glass Fashion Show that brought the Glass Art Society conference in Corning, New York to a spectacular close last June, you're in luck. The razzle and dazzle, not to mention the sparkle and glitter, have been documented in the superb photography of Stephen Wild. Artfully arranged on the page, a compilation of the best images has just been released as a handsome hardcover book. (Disclosure: The introduction was adapted from an article on the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet.) The book is a must-see for those present for the festivities, who now have a chance to revisit the thrill and savor the highlights, such as Jasen Johnson emerging with his glass guitar and scantily-clad entourage to kick things off.

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.