Andy Paiko, Indefinite Sum #6, 2016. Blown, sculpted, etched, lacquered, mirrored, assembled glass, brass, leather. H 21, W 96, D 12 in. image: kenek photography, courtesy of wexler gallery.

Thursday June 30, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

Ornate assemblage artist Andy Paiko wins Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, News

Artist and designer Andy Paiko — known for his highly intricate, often kinetic, glass fabrications — has received a 2015 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. The biennial juried award grants $20,000 to 30 artists to provide “the opportunity to produce new work, to push the boundaries of their creativity.” If Louis Comfort Tiffany's designs advanced glass lamps and jewelry as art, Andy Paiko has effectively been doing the reverse, provoking us to consider art glass objects as functioning, moving, active utilitarian devices. That very distinction between aesthetic and functional value seems to be a boundary that he seeks to erase.

Helen Lee's gold award-winning work KowTow.

Wednesday June 29, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Helen Lee takes top honors in Emerge 2016, a juried biennial exhibition organized by Bullseye Glass

FILED UNDER: Announcements, Award, Exhibition, News

Artist and educator (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Helen Lee took the gold prize at "Emerge 2016," the ninth biennial juried exhibition organized by Bullseye Glass. This year's field saw 370 entries, from which 42 finalists were selected by the jury made up of Bellevue Arts Museum curator Stefano Catalani, artist and educator Kim Harty (College of Creative Studies, Detroit), and Art in America contributing editor and educator (Portland State Universty) Sue Taylor. The competition drew submissions from 16 countries, and jurors were instructed to select work that best represented "creativity, craftsmanship, and design" in object-making using Bullseye Glass.

Arts In The Village Dedication Barrys2 2

Richard and Carolyn Barry have donated generously to both Old Dominion University and the Chrysler Museum of Art. courtesy: old dominion university

Tuesday June 28, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

Major Chrysler Museum benefactors donate private collection to nearby university in $35 million gift

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Exhibition, News

Prominent Norfolk, Virginia-area philanthropists Richard and Carolyn Barry, whose names adorn the Chrysler Museum of Art's glass curator position, have just announced that their art collection will be gifted to Old Dominion University in nearby Hampton Roads, Virginia. The Barrys' collection is part of a $35-million gift to the academic institution that is earmarked for the construction of a new museum building to house their collection— which includes over 100 sculptural objects from some of the most prominent Studio Glass artists such as Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, and Harvey Littleton.

Beth Lipman, Distill #13, 2015. Cast iron, enamel, chrome plating. H 12, W 7, D 6 in. photo: arts/industry program of the john michael kohler arts center and kohler co.

Thursday June 23, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

OPENING: Beth Lipman leaves glass behind in newest body of work

FILED UNDER: Exhibition, Opening

Of the thirteen new works Beth Lipman will unveil Saturday, June 25th, at an opening at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York City, none include the material of glass with which she made her career. Instead, the works in the exhibition entitled "Distill" are primarily cast iron. For this body of work, Lipman made dioramas by arranging ancient flora, such as conifer and ginkgo, alongside pieces of miniature furniture in cardboard boxes, which were then filled with molten iron. The result is a series of fossil-like tableaus, where seemingly ancient pieces of modern furniture are overtaken by organic matter.

Richard Royal's blown glass orbs. courtesy: schantz galleries

Thursday June 23, 2016 | by Sarah Canny

Annual outdoor contemporary sculpture exhibition turns focus to glass for the first time

FILED UNDER: Exhibition, New Work, News, Opening

When art dealer Jim Schantz was given the opportunity to curate the first all-glass exhibition at the annual contemporary and experimental sculpture show at the grounds of the historic Chesterwood, a Stockbridge, Massachussets, landmark, he saw an opportunity to push some of the leading glass artists he represents into new territory — environmental artwork. “It was an opportunity for them to realize their visions and perhaps work outside their comfort zone,” Schantz says in an email exchange with the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet. He reached out to artists Martin Blank, Peter Bremers, Nancy Callan, William Carlson, Daniel Clayman, Sidney Hutter, Richard Jolley, John Kiley, Thomas Patti, Kait Rhoads, Richard Royal, and Thomas Scoon, some of whom were well-acquainted with the challenges of exhibiting work outdoors, while others had never done so before. The result is the exhibiton "The Nature of Glass," which will remain on view through September 18, 2016.

Thursday June 23, 2016 | by Malcolm Morano

OPENING: Opulent Dale Chihuly installations take over at The Royal Ontario Museum

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Museums, Opening

Opening this Saturday, and on view for six months, the Royal Ontario Museum's "CHIHULY" exhibition features 11 installations by the most-famous artist working in glass. Among the works on display is the popular Persian Ceiling, which puts viewers underneath a glass-plate layered with Chihuly’s vividly colored Persian rondels. Also on view is Laguna Torcello, a vibrant, lagoon-inspired garden of glass objects. The artist has also created a new work specifically for the exhibition, Persian Trellis — an arbor adorned with Persian rondels, inviting viewers to not only walk under, but through the colorful light-gathering works.

Pavlina Cambalova was the 2015 artist in residence at Toyama.

Tuesday June 21, 2016 | by Sarah Canny

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Still time to apply for 6-week artist residency in Toyama, Japan

FILED UNDER: Call for Submissions, Education

The Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan is accepting applications for its annual 6-week artist-in-residence program that will take place from October 20 through November 30, 2016. The application materials state the residency will go to a glass artist "who has potential to stimulate the glass art scene in Toyama by his/her works, regardless of age, gender and techniques he/she utilizes." The successful applicant will have access to a full suite of facilities to create his or her own work in a supportive and enthusiastic environment. The work made by the resident artist will receive a solo exhibition. Along with creating, the artist is expected to participate in lectures and demonstrations, and to interact and share his or her knowledge and experience with the many students and fellow artists on campus.

Sunday June 19, 2016 | by Andrew Page

Reporter shatters misconception of fragility on longest glass footbridge set to open in China

FILED UNDER: Architecture, Design, News, Video

It would take extraordinary strength to breach three sheets of glass laminated together with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), yet high-profile structural applications, such as high-altitude footbridges in China, continue to awe the public who associate glass with fragility and a tendency to shatter. In an effort to dispell this unwarranted fear of walking on glass, a BBC reporter was invited to try to break a structural glass panel shortly before the opening of the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge, which is expected to open in July 2016 in Zhangjiajie, China.

Laura Donefer revels in the love her fashion show unleashes in the glass community. photo: dave hickie

Wednesday June 15, 2016 | by Andrew Page

GALLERY: Four-years-in-the-making, Laura Donefer’s glass fashion show at Corning GAS raises the bar

FILED UNDER: Image Gallery, New Work, News

Since her very first glass fashion show in Toronto in 1989, artist Laura Donefer has been cajoling artists to don costumes celebrating their imaginations and their material, which they then parade before an adoring crowd of fellow artists. For the closing-night party of the 2016 Glass Art Society conference last Saturday night, Donefer pulled out all the stops, memorializing the late rock stars Prince and David Bowie in a tightly choreographed sequence of moveable art and music as artists walked the catwalk set up at The Corning Museum of Glass auditorium. Because of the massive crowd of attendees, and a limit of 800 seats in the auditorium, there were two shows for the first time in the 27-year history of Donefer's productions. While the fashion extravaganza generates massive amounts of excitement, attention, and affection for Donefer, the Canadian artist says the epic event does not directly link up with her personal art practice.

Gallery Elena Lee

Tuesday June 7, 2016 | by Sarah Canny

Taking on new partners, a Montreal glass gallery finds a connection to a younger generation

FILED UNDER: News

Elena Lee, owner of the longtime Montreal gallery that bears her name, recently turned 74 years old. Aware of a new set of skills needed for success in the new world of social media, as well as the ever-growing number of galleries closing, Lee recently decided to take on two co-owners to help share her workload and finances. Her plan is to sell Elena Lee, but first, she must pass on her knowledge, expertise, and collection to her new partners. Florie Guerin and Pierre Boudreau are two young devotees of glass, well versed in the realm of art, ready to take on the flaming torch that Elena is eventually planning on handing them.

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.