Ruben Toledo, Glory Hole, 2009. Watercolor. H 51, W 120 in. Starting bid: $20,000.
On Friday, October 23, the glass world will convene at the Westin Seattle ballroom for the 31st Annual Auction Gala supporting the Pilchuck Glass School. After the $1.2 million raised in the 2008 Pilchuck auction, this year’s results will be closely watched. With the Bellevue Arts Museum setting a new record with its annual fundraiser last July, and with the Museum of Glass having exceeded its own expectations by raising $624,139 on it’s own auction earlier this month, all eyes will be on the proceedings at Pilchuck’s Friday evening event.
Asked to discuss the likely standout works in this year’s auction, Pilchuck spokesperson Sara Ball was reluctant to single out specific artists or works. “I really want to recognize that every artist that donated work is bringing significant pieces of unique beauty to the Pilchuck auction this year,” she told GLASS in a telephone interview. “But there are works that we know from prior experience are likely to get the most attention, and help us to move the needle in terms of fundraising.”
Leading off the high-profile works is one not even in glass. Pilchuck 2009 artists in residence Isabel and Reuben Toledo brought fashion design together with glass this past summer. Fashion designer Isabel Toledo has donated a watercolor painting by her husband and artistic partner Ruben Toledo to this year’s auction (pictured above), and the duo will be this year’s auction chairs.
Davide Salvadore, Tiraboson: Cornico, 2008. Blown and carved glass. H 49, W 16, D 15 in. Starting bid: $47,000.
The individual work carrying the highest auction estimate is a signed 2008 blown-and-carved piece by Davide Salvadore. Entitled Tiraboson: Cornico. Pictured at left, it features the virtuosic display of Murano glass techniques by one of the finest maestros working in Venice today.
Mary Van Cline, Woman with Red Leaves, 2005. Cast selenium gold glass, pâte de verre. H 36, W 24, D 11 in. Starting bid: $35,000.
Pictured at right is Mary Van Cline’s 2005 work, Woman with Red Leaves, which displays the artist’s signature refined composition and utterly unique approach to the material. Van Cline was recently interviewed by GLASS about her practice in an article you can read here.
Martin Blank, whose monumental public art installation was recently unveiled at the Museum of Glass will be represented at the Pilchuck Auction with a piece in his 2009 “Convergence” series. His 23-inch tall assemblage of sculpted curved glass elements will carry a starting bid of $24,000.
Both the father and son Marioni has donated major work to this year’s fundraiser. Paul Marioni’s 2007 cast-glass-and-enamel work Trophy is a small architectural artwork that supports itself on two bent walls, and has a starting bid of $24,000. Dante Marioni’s 34-inch-tall Standing Reticello Leaf (2009) continues to take traditional Venetian techniques to new levels of scale and ambition. It carries a starting bid of $14,000.
These are only a few of the more than 350 works that will be going up for live and silent auctions on Friday evening. Centerpieces by Jiri Harcuba will also be sold to the highest bidders Last-minute tickets for the auction and the four-days of events including tours of some of the finest collections in the area are still available by calling Helga Hizer, at 206.621.8422, Ext. 34, or you can e-mail her at reservations@pilchuck.com.
For those unable to attend in person, Pilchuck, like many auctions, offers online access to the live auction proceedings on-line at www.bidspotter.com which allows real-time competitive bidding during the actual event. Those who register at bidspotter can even place absentee bids.
But of course, the most fun is to be had being there in person.
IF YOU GO:
The 31st Annual Pilchuck Glass School Auction The Westin Seattle 1900 Fifth Avenue Seattle Friday, October 23, 2009, 5 PM – 11 PM