Saturday June 13, 2020 | by Andrew Page

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Special Survival Story Issue: Summer 2020 edition of Glass (#159)

The Summer 2020 edition of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#159) is on newsstands and has arrived in subscriber mailboxes. In recognition of economic challenges facing artists at this moment, UrbanGlass is making it available at a Pay What You Can rate. The typographic cover design consists of a jumble of weather-beaten red letters spelling out "survival" with the rips repaired with clear tape. It's an issue about rebuilding after adversity, and it's told through the words of glass artists.

Tuesday May 19, 2020 | by Andrew Page

PREVIEW: The Summer 2020 edition of Glass Quarterly will be devoted to stories of survival

As stay-at-home orders were issued across the U.S. in mid-March, we at Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly made the decision to scrap our plans for the next issue. It wasn't that the artists we'd been planning to feature had become any less important, but the overpowering sense we would be entering a new era facing down a serious threat not only to our health but our livelihoods. The moment demanded something different, and so we decided to produce a special issue.

Tuesday May 19, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

The 2020 Glass Art Society conference will not kick off in Sweden, but on your computer screen Thursday morning

The 2020 Glass Art Society Conference scheduled to take place in Småland, Sweden became one of the countless events to be scrapped due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. But that won't mean this year will miss the annual gathering of the glass tribe. Kicking off at 10 AM Seattle time on Thursday, May 21st, and running through Saturday the 23rd (the original events scheduled dates) much of the planned program will be in place for the first-ever, totally-online event. The Virtual Conference will be free and open to the public via live-streamed and recorded video. Awards ceremonies, demos, panel discussions, lectures, tours, happy hours, and more will all be available. The goblet grab, portfolio review, and silent auction will all be part of the three-day event. There will even be a virtual version of the prized conference t-shirt, as well as a video experience of the annual collectors' tour.

Schaechter's monumental stained-glass window The Battle of Carnival and Lent (2010) was acquired by the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery.

Wednesday May 6, 2020 | by Andrew Page

EVENT: Judith Schaechter will speak with the curator of her major museum exhibition live on Facebook Thursday

Judith Schaechter's major career retrospective at the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery may have been forced to "go virtual" a month after its February 2020 opening because of statewide stay-at-home orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Philadelphia-based artist will engage in a public conversation with the exhibition's curator, Jessica Marten, the museum's curator in charge and curator of American art. The live event, scheduled to take place from 6 PM to 7 PM on Thursday, May 7, will be available for free via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/1081907148844560/), where you can not only listen in on a discussion of the career and artwork of an artist singularly responsible for expanding the realm of expressive possibility in the medium of stained glass, but also submit your questions.

Saturday May 2, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

INTERVIEW: Nancy Callan on her recent virtual artist talk and exhibit, as well as the challenges of making glass art during a pandemic

Nancy Callan’s artistic voice as a glass sculptor reflects her high-level training and talents. Callan attended the Massachusetts College of Art (BFA 1996) and lives in Seattle, where she is part of the vibrant Northwest glass community. On April 18th, 2020, she conducted a Virtual Tour of her Seattle studio. She showed attendees how she creates complex glass patterns. She also highlighted several of her popular series: "Droplets", "Panels", and "Palomas".

Wednesday April 22, 2020 | by Andrew Page

The Glass Art Society rolls out regional relief grants, plans virtual conference in place of cancelled 2020 May event

The Glass Art Society is set to announce three new regionally-focused emergency relief funds for glass artists in New York State, the Northwest, and the Washington, D.C. areas respectively. They are targeted to artists in specific geographic areas, a contrast to its worldwide emergency grant relief fund that rapidly disbursed $10,000 in grants of $250 each to the first 40 qualified applicants from around the world. While the artist organization is looking to replenish its international grant program's funding, these new regional relief funds are looking to disburse $10,000 (NY), $5,000 (NW), and $2,000 (D.C./Virginia/Maryland) to a narrower pool of artists. To apply, you must be a current member of GAS and have your primary residential or business address in one of the three areas. Funded by The Corning Foundation, Chihuly Gardens and Glass, and the Kendeda Fund, the initiative is part of an outreach effort GAS is making to help institutions get funding to individual artists efficiently. It is not available to students or nonprofit organizations, but only to individual artists. Executive director Brandi Clark says that she hopes that GAS can offer grant programs in other geographic areas internationally, and will do so if they can negotiate funding.

A still from a virtual tour of the Preston Singletary exhibition "Artifacts from the Future" at Traver Gallery.

Thursday April 16, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

Using technology to connect artists and collectors during extended closure, Traver Gallery to host virtual happy hour with Preston Singletary

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Events, Exhibition, News, Video

The Traver Gallery will host an "In Conversation" event with artist Preston Singletary on Thursday, April 16th, from 5 PM to 6 PM PDT (8 PM to 9 PM EST) to make up for the inability to host a real-time opening event around Singletary's ongoing exhibition "Artifacts from a Future Dream". The exhibition, which Singletary describes as "an homage to the future generations of Indigenous people", explores the the healing power of amulets, art, and shared stories. Topics to be discussed in this evening's conversation between the artist and gallery director Sarah Traver include stories and objects that inspired the artistic works, as well as the intersection of tradition and modern life.

During an online class session, RIT's glass students share portraits they drew of one another. courtesy: madeline rile smith.

Tuesday April 7, 2020 | by Lindsay von Hagn

Glass education goes online as universities remain closed for coronavirus distancing

As the threat of COVID-19 has rapidly spread throughout the world in the past few weeks, many colleges and universities were among the first to reach the difficult decision to suspend in-person classes in favor of a transition to online instruction. Making such a drastic and sudden change was a challenge for educators and students everywhere, but perhaps more so for art students relying on hands-on studio work and in-person critique to advance their studies.

courtesy: the artist

Saturday April 4, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

INTERVIEW: Mel Douglas, who took top honors and AUD $15,000 in the 2020 Tom Malone Prize, discusses inspiration and process

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, News

Australian glass artist Mel Douglas, whose works (according to her own words) "explore and interweave the creative possibilities of this liminal space" has won the coveted Tom Malone Prize of 2020 for her work Tonal Value (2019). The Tom Malone Prize is a highly respected national event within the Australian glass arts community. Each year’s winning entrant is awarded AUD $15,000 and their work becomes a part of the State Art Collection where it joins works by previous winners. Now in its 18th year, the Tom Malone Prize continues with the generous support of Ms Sheryl Grimwood, AGWA Foundation Benefactor.

This rare and important Mosaico vase by Nicolò Barovier carries the auction's highest estimate.

Sunday March 29, 2020 | by Farah Rose Smith

Chicago auction house Wright moves ahead with April 2nd auction "Important Italian Glass" with online-only sale of rarely available Murano glass works

Amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, museums, galleries, and auction houses have temporarily closed their doors to the public, and many exhibitions have been postponed for weeks until the lifting of a government-ordered shut down to stem the spread of the pandemic. But Chicago based Wright (and its New York/New Jersey-partner Rago, with which it merged business operations in 2019) will proceed with its much anticipated April 2nd auction of "Important Italian Glass," with individual estimates up to half a million dollars and rarely seen works by Carlo Scarpa, Nicolò Barovier, Tomaso Buzzi, and Ercole Barovier, among the more than 100 works available for sale.

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.