OPENING: Color blooms at the Basch Gallery at Ringling College of Art and Design

A piece by Dale Chihuly entitled The Blue Persian sold at a show in Tampa in 1993 and began Richard and Barbara Basch’s passion for collecting glass art pieces. They began with the work of American artists, and soon broadened their support of artists from all over the world. Since then, the Basches have amassed over 250 pieces for their collection, including 10 more works of art by Chihuly. The Richard and Barbara Basch Gallery at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida now houses much of the Basches’ collection, most of which has been donated and is now owned by the school. Its most recent exhibition, “Che Colore!” which runs through March 7, 2014, features 33 works that have been created by blowing, casting, and other methods by celebrated artists such as Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, and Lucio Bubacco, among others.

The exhibition explores the versatility of glass and its beauty when colored with bright hues, and the objects on display “reference the history of art in depictions of the human body, vessels such as baskets, goblets, bowls, and pots as well as highly imaginative abstract forms,” according to a prepared statement by the gallery.  Laura Donefer, one of the artists whose pieces are included in the “Che Colore!” collection, delivered a talk at the gallery on January 17th, 2014.

"For most of us, our familiarity is with clear glass – perhaps with a tint of green or blue in our homes, offices and cars," said Mark Ormond, Curator of Exhibitions for Ringling College Galleries, in a prepared statement. "In fact, since its first appearance in a modern civilization somewhere in Mesopotamia (modern day Syria and Eqypt) around 3500 BCE, most glass has been clear. While some of the objects in this exhibition include some clear glass, the majority of examples celebrate the discoveries in science and advances in production that make extraordinary color in glass possible."

Past exhibitions at the Basch Gallery include the American Studio Glass Exhibition, as well as the whimsical "Creative Spontaneity in Glass" exhibition, which was on display in 2013. Barbara Basch also regularly guides tours throughout the exhibit in which her most precious pieces are housed

—Paulina Switniewska