EXHIBITION: Tracing the evolution of glass color chemistry across the centuries

When Corning Museum of Glass curator Amy McHugh first walked through the Museum’s ongoing exhibition "35 Centuries of Glass," she expected to see changes in what colors could be achieved in glass as technology and knowledge exapnded. As the years progressed, aesthetics and designs varied, as did coloring, but a pronounced shift in color around the late 19th century was enough to give her pause. Why were the colors suddenly so vivid? Why did they look so different from what had preceded them? A deep dive into Corning’s collections resulted in the upcoming exhibition, "Brilliant Color," an attempt to showcase the creative techniques of the golden age of glassmaking. Four curatorial groupings, ranging from “Spectrum of Color” to “Color Today,” invite visitors to view wall displays and interact with a variety of color techniques as they gain a new appreciation for the historical experimentation that brought us the vibrant hues we come to expect today.

The art glass produced by turn-of-the-century artisans boasted nature-inspired designs, flowing Art Nouveau shapes, and notably, a riot of color. A brightly colored flower or swirl would serve to accentuate the muted pastel background of a lamp or vase. But it wasn’t just vivid colors that were taking the stage, but never-before-seen iridescent and sparkling shades created by new techniques and tools. The Art Glass movement had a strong hold in many countries across Europe and North America, but it was one particular school of art, and the colors it produced, that captured McHugh’s attention. 

The Stourbridge School of Art, located in Stourbridge, England, was opened in 1851 and remained so until 2022. McHugh calls it a “Mecca of glass production, from around the 1880s to the early 20th century.” The school taught glassworking to most of its art students, but it also taught chemistry. She came to the conclusion that it was this knowledge of chemical compounds that led to graduates of Stourbridge displaying a revolutionary understanding of color and glass. Across the craft art spectrum, anyone from engravers-in-training to aspiring factory managers studied the science of dye and coloring and learned to apply it to the works they produced. 

Designers like Frederick Carder and Arthur Douglas Nash, both of which appear in "Brilliant Color," worked for Stourbridge before emigrating to the United States and commercializing their work. The novel method of mass production, which was beginning to reach multiple industries by this time, only strengthened the new movement, giving designers the opportunity to bring new colors and forms to the masses. Items like those making up Corning’s collection are beautifully made and traditionally very expensive, but others in their image could be factory produced and sold to the homes of the emerging middle class.

While the "Brilliant Color"exhibition’s spotlight remains on the Golden Age era, a selection of roughly ten contemporary pieces were chosen to illustrate the continuing legacy of colored glass. The artworks, including pieces by Klaus Moje, Toots Zynsky, and Mark Peiser, were chosen for their unique color combinations and techniques that the artists deliberately worked to discover. Other sections of the exhibition offer glass techniques, a glass-color rainbow, and an exploration of the relationship between color and light. McHugh’s goal is to present the strong connection between the arts and the sciences, in a way that all visitors can appreciate. “Not everyone would be able to understand what certain chemical compounds make a color,”  she says, “but we want everyone to understand that there’s a lot of experimentation behind each color. It might look completely different depending on the person.”

IF YOU GO:

May 10, 2025–January 11, 2026
"Brilliant Color"
Corning Museum of Glass
1 Museum Way, Corning, NY
Tel: 607-937-5371