IN MEMORIAM: Tony Jojola (1958 - 2022)

Instrumental to the early teams of Dale Chihuly and Lino Tagliapietra, Native artist Tony Jojola (b. 1958) died unexpectedly as the result of a bacterial infection, which originated in his intestine and migrated to his bloodstream. He passed away on December 28, 2022, surrounded by his mother; son, Domingo; daughter, Mia; and loving partner, Rafelita.

Wednesday December 7, 2022 | by Marziya Hasan

Glass mosaics in a new subterranean New York City train terminal bring art and light underground

Though the exact opening date has not yet been released, the long-awaited Madison Terminal will open soon to Long Island Railroad passengers looking to go directly from Grand Central Terminal to points East Essentially, a new two-level, 700,000 square-foot station has been excavated from the earth below the existing historic Grand Central train terminal, the subterranean expanse will be brightened by multiples glass mosaics by Yayoi Kusamaand Kiki Smith. Though glass artwork, including mosaics, have long graced the walls and tunnels of New York City's subways, it is rare for the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Arts & Design program to commission multiple works by a single artist, as was done in the case of Kiki Smith's five large-scale mosaics of naturalistic scenes, some featuring bodies of water in the New York City region.

Friday December 2, 2022 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: The Winter 2022 edition of Glass (#169)

The Winter 2022 edition (#169) of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly is in subscriber mailboxes and newsstands. On the cover is a striking image of an unusual handle from an attempted replica of an antique glass vessel. The mistakes were the result of the language barrier between British glass artist Erin DIckson and the Italian maestro she was working with in Murano.

Montreal's Verre Art Glass was the very first iteration of the Elena Lee Galerie, and it opened in 1976.

Tuesday November 22, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

Pioneering art dealer Elena Lee looks back on four decades of the Canadian Studio Glass scene

When we think about the first galleries devoted exclusively to glass art, names such as Heller, Traver, and Habatat, spring to mind, as the pioneering dealers who helped the field develop a commercial base. Few know of a parallel story that was unfolding simultaneously just north of the border, where a bold gallery owner hoisted a Canadian flag for glass art in 1976. When European-born Elena Lee opened the doors of her first gallery, Verre Art Glass, in Montreal, Canada, she had been inspired by her travels and what she found during a visit to Erwin Eisch's studio in Frauenau. Her husband, Stuart, was originally from Quebec, and she had a young son, and so they all relocated to Montreal, where she launched a career that would stretch for more than 40 years.

Tuesday November 15, 2022 | by Sponsored Content

Registration for the 2023 GAS Conference in Detroit is now open

The Glass Art Society has announced the location and dates for the upcoming 2023 annual conference, which will take place in Detroit from June 7th through 10th. Following their post-pandemic return to in-person programming with 2022’s Tacoma conference, the Detroit event is planned to be in-person and tickets are already available for purchase at a special early-bird discounted rate, which will expire on January 10th. Along with attendee registration, applications for exhibition slots and scholarships are also open.

Friday November 11, 2022 | by Marziya Hasan

A labor of love that opened in the midst of the pandemic, the Neon Museum of Philadelphia is closing down for good

After opening its doors to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021, the Neon Museum of Philadelphia will be closing for good this December 11th. Founder Len Davidson opened the museum less than two years ago after spending decades exploring neon art. The museum consisted of a collection of pieces highlighting neon art and commercial signs and advertisements of past businesses in Philadelphia.

Monday October 31, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

Judith Schaechter at Claire Oliver Gallery for her 8th exhibition, entitled "MAKE/BELIEVE"

Judith Schaechter’s "MAKE/BELIEVE" is currently on view at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem. Presented in lightboxes, six new stained glass paintings will remain on display through December 17th, 2022. Drawing on the past few years, the exhibition reflects Schaechter’s experiences through the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Using centuries-old techniques combined with innovative engraving and layering processes that she developed herself, Schaechter narrates stories of social upheaval and change. Along with the stained glass pieces, she also designed a custom wallpaper that will be put up in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition.

Thursday October 6, 2022 | by Andrew Page

OPENING: John Kiley's work adjacent to Dale Chihuly's in Traver Gallery exhibition debuting tonight

For the first time, John Kiley is exhibiting his work adjacent to his former employer Dale Chihuly at side-by-side exhibitions at Traver Gallery. The dual shows, entitled "Perspective" and "Chihuly", are opening this evening, October 6, 2022, in Seattle. This opportunity is a career high-water mark for Kiley, who worked for Chihuly from 1994 to 1998 before going on to work on Lino Tagliapietra's team and on his own projects. In a telephone conversation with the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet, Kiley shared a memory of the time he was tapped to help Chihuly develop some design concepts for the chandelier series that would become the legendary "Chihuly Over Venice" installation in 2016, an unexpected honor for an up-and-coming glassblower. He remembers Chihuly leaving him to his own devices for a few hours in a studio that happened to have no glory hole, then returning to take a look at what he'd come up with on his own. He won't forget the sharp sting of rejection as the annealer was opened. "He basically said it was crap," Kiley recalls frankly, adding that he only had four or five years of glass experience under his belt at that point.

Tuesday October 4, 2022 | by Sadia Tasnim

DEMO: "Oiva's Birds" will take flight at Corning's amphitheater courtesy of the Saariko Brothers, visiting the museum rom October 12 - 15th

The Corning Museum of Glass is hosting it’s fourth annual Imagination to Creation: Oiva’s Birds demonstration and celebration this October. Featuring fourth-generation glassmakers from Finland’s historic Iitalla glassworks, brothers Pete and Juha Saariko will be demonstrating the late Oiva Toikka’s bird-making techniques at Corning’s Amphitheater Hot Shop from October 12-15.

Saturday October 1, 2022 | by Andrew Page

The UrbanGlass Gala celebrates RIchard Yelle, who founded The New York Experimental Glass Workshop 45 years ago, and helped steer the artist collective's maturation into the glass art flagship its become today

Forty-five years after its founding as a scrappy artist collective located in a basement on Great Jones Street in Manhattan, UrbanGlass has steadily evolved, moving three times, renovating its building, and reaching an ever-expanding audience. In 2022, the nonprofit art center occupies a state-of-the-art 17,000-square-foot space in Downtown Brooklyn at the epicenter of New York City's dynamic cultural landscape.