Behind the scenes of the 2020 Live Auction broadcast of Pilchuck: Through the Kaleidoscope. Auctioneer Fred
Northup, Jr. and executive director Christopher R. Taylor. © pilchuck glass school

Monday October 26, 2020 | by Andrew Page

Pilchuck's $1.1 million virtual gala is a bright spot in a pandemic-ravaged economy

As the pandemic stretches on, much of the economic news from the glass-art world is more about survival than success. But the impressive auction results from Pilchuck's first-ever virtual annual gala, themed "Through the Kaleidoscope" and held online on October 17th, were something to celebrate. The results were all the more notable because zthe staff of Pilchuck, which in June canceled its 2020 in-person programming, braced themselves for sharply lower gala income for 2020 compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 gala's $1.2 million. And instead of the usual 150 to 200 auction items, they pared this year's offerings down to 96,

Friday October 2, 2020 | by Gabriella Sanderson

BOOK REPORT: Major art book publisher delivers 256-page monograph of Karen LaMonte's work

The first published monograph of the work of Karen LaMonte, a 256-page volume published by Rizzoli, presents LaMonte's hauntingly beautiful work in over 250 images. This lavish coffee-table book features essays by Arthur Danto, Brett Lipman, Laura Addison, Tina Oldknow, Steven A. Nash and Lucy R. Lippard, offering leading critical voices that place the work in a larger contemporary-art context. Lucy R. Lippard, an American writer, art critic, activist and curator, explores the female narrative in contemporary art in her essay. Museum director Steven A. Nash and Brett Littman, the director of the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and the Garden Museum in Long Island City, provide a broader insight into LaMonte's extraordinary career. Arthur Danto, who teaches at Columbia University and writes for Artforum, delivers an internationally-known critic's perspective. Curators Laura Addison(Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe) and Tina Oldknow (formerly with Corning, and now an independent curator) bring additional approaches to the analysis of LeMonte’s contemporary sculptures.

A partial installation view of Joseph Rossano's exhibition at Pilchuck Gallery. courtesy: CB Bell Media

Wednesday September 30, 2020 | by Arina Novak

In Seattle exhibition, artist Joseph Rossano's "Ivory Project" explores the lengthy history of species extinction

Humanity has a complex history with animals. Over millennia, our role has shifted from prey to rivals, from hunters to domesticators. Since ancient times, humans have looked to animals as symbols of mystery and power, but now we are aware of another dynamic in our longstanding relationship -- as humans have driven some species to the brink of extinction, and we recognize we are both destroyers and protectors. Ivory .125 is an ambitious installation by Joseph Rossano, an American glass artist. Curated by Benjamin Wright, the artistic director of Pilchuck, it explores these patterns of human behavior as viewed through fossil records.

Thursday September 10, 2020 | by Arina Novak

With Venice Glass Week 2020, the historic center of glassblowing tentatively reopens to the world

As the art world reopens while keeping a watchful eye on the COVID-19 pandemic, postponed public art events are finally taking place, museums are reopening, and a few art fairs are tentatively welcoming international visitors. Venice Glass Week 2020, an annual celebration of this important and historic Venetian art and industry is currently holding its fourth edition, with the tagline #TheHeartOfGlass. Taking place now through September 13th, 2020, the event includes more than 180 physical and digital events around the city of Venice, and the island of Murano.

Tuesday September 8, 2020 | by Andrew Page

In Memoriam: Robert M. Minkoff (1951 - 2020)

Philanthropist and glass-art collector Robert Minkoff died on Sunday, September 6, 2020, from complications of central nervous system lymphoma, first diagnosed in 2018. Through the Potomac, Maryland-based Robert M. Minkoff Foundation, he funded a number of artist residencies, scholarship programs, and academic conferences, as well as giving to the Jewish Federation and Housing Unlimited, a program that makes it possible for those with mental-health issues to live independently. (Disclosure: The author served as the director of the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation until 2018.)

Charlotte Potter Kasic returned to the Hampton Roads area in January 2020 after three years in Vermont.

Thursday September 3, 2020 | by Andrew Page

Charlotte Potter Kasic named interim director of the Barry Art Museum as founding director Jutta-Annette Page nears retirement

Charlotte Potter Kasic, who returned to Norfolk, Virginia, in January 2020 to become the manager of museum education and engagement at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University, has been named as the museum's interim director as the founding director Jutta-Annette Page is set to retire in October 2020. Kasic is credited with the museum's fluid transition to virtual exhibitions and activities when the pandemic hit, and the institution is now open with limited hours.

Thursday September 3, 2020 | by Andrew Page

IN MEMORIAM: Michael Glancy (1950 - 2020)

Artist and educator Michael Glancy died of complications of lung cancer last Saturday, August 29th. 2020. He passed away at the age of 70 at his summer home in Harwich Port, Massachusetts. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Robin Stengel Glancy; his son Michael Glancy, Jr., daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Little Glancy of Baltimore, Md., and his beloved granddaughters Ella and Mae; as well as his son Robin Peyton Glancy.

Wednesday September 2, 2020 | by Andrew Page

Citing continuing uncertainty around the pandemic, the Glass Art Society postpones 2021 conference, will offer expanded virtual programming

The Glass Art Society has announced it will push its next in-person annual conference from 2021 to 2022, citing the ongoing uncertainty and health risks of Covid-19. After the planned 2020 conference in Småland, Sweden, was recast as a virtual event, attention shifted to the May 2021 conference, which was to mark the 50th anniversary of the artist organization, and had been planned to take place in Tacoma, Washington. Today it was announced that the celebration and the venue will remain the same, but take place on new dates -- May 18 through 21st, 2022 -- pushing the event a year ahead.

Tuesday September 1, 2020 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: The Fall 2020 edition of Glass (#160)

The Fall 2020 edition of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#160) is hitting newsstands and subscriber mailboxes. On the cover is a self-portrait of Corey Pemberton, the cofounder of Crafting the Future, a nonprofit with a mission to expand the pool of artists who work with art from craft media, including glass, so that the field might become more diverse. Since the summer’s protests of police killings sparked a national dialogue about race that has reverberated across society, the art world has been challenged to reflect on how inclusive it has been. In the glass art field, where representation of people of color remains limited at best, it has sparked a necessary and overdue conversation about why racial disparity has persisted in this medium for expression, and what actions can be taken to change that. One focus of this issue of Glass is to illustrate the extent of the problem and to highlight potential paths toward progress, including the notable efforts of Pemberton and Crafting the Future cofounder Annie Evelyn.

Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg courtesy: www.baldwinguggisberg.com

Wednesday August 26, 2020 | by Arina Novak

EXHIBITION: New collaborative work by Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg at Schantz Galleries

Schantz Galleries in Stockbridge, Massachusetts celebrates the work of the prolific glass artists Philip Baldwin (1947) and Monica Guggisberg (1955) in the by-appointment-only exhibition “Creative Journeys” which will remain on view through August 30th. The couple are a critically acclaimed duo who've been collaborating for over 40 years. A fateful encounter between two students at the Orrefors Glass School in Sweden in 1979 turned into a romantic and then a professional relationship bonded by a common passion for glass art. In 1981, Baldwin and Guggisberg became a team and established their first glass studio in Switzerland with a focus on producing functional design objects for everyday use. In 2001, they moved to Paris to further engage with the glass community by collaborating with Steuben in the U.S., Rosenthal in Germany, and Murano in Italy. In 2015, the couple left for rural Wales where they established a new workshop on a countryside farm where they continue to work on the new projects today.

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.