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Yesterday's <u>Philadelphia Inquirer</u> (page E4) has a <b>wonderful</b>
article about Glass at<br>
<a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/29786049.html">http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/29786049.html</a><br>
and highlights the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery
Retrospective of works by Lino Tagliapietra.<br>
<br>
The official Renwick press release can be found at <a
href="http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/saam_tagliapietra.asp">http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/saam_tagliapietra.asp</a><br>
and states that the Retrospective will run from October 3, 2008 through
January 11, 2009.<br>
<br>
If you miss seeing at the Renwick, the exhibition will
also travel to <br>
<ul>
<li>the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va. (April 19,
2009–July 19, 2009),</li>
<li>the Palm Springs Art Museum (Sept. 26, 2009–Dec.
27, 2009), and <br>
</li>
<li>the Museum of Arts + Design in New York City (Feb. 1,
2010–May 31, 2010).<br>
</li>
</ul>
Tony Patti<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.glassblower.info">www.glassblower.info</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:gaffer@glassblower.info">gaffer@glassblower.info</a><br>
<br>
<br>
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<h1><small>Antiques: Adventures in art glass' technical brilliance</small></h1>
<h2>A retrospective of Lino Tagliapetra's works spotlights
apprenticeship relationships.</h2>
<div class="container_image_left"> <img
src="cid:part1.09000600.02000909@glassblower.info" alt="" title=""
class="img_border" border="0" height="49" width="40"> </div>
<p class="byline">By Karla Klein Albertson </p>
<p class="byline lastline">Inquirer Antiques Columnist</p>
<div class="body-content">Collectors of contemporary studio glass
know that it melds technical
skill and artistic innovation. Few glassmakers have been more
successful at this fusion than Lino Tagliapietra, who divides his
working life between his native Italy and the United States.
<p>"Lino Tagliapietra in Retrospect: A Modern Renaissance in
Italian
Glass" opens Oct. 3 at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American
Art Museum in Washington. The 140 works on display range from simpler
forms produced in Murano, near Venice, at the beginning of his long
career to brilliantly complex pieces from the last decade.</p>
<p>The show, and the accompanying catalog by exhibition curator
Susanne K.
Frantz, tell a story of artistic cross-pollination between glassmakers
from both sides of the Atlantic. When Tagliapietra first came to teach
at the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle in 1979, he shared classic
techniques from the Venetian workshops with eager students.</p>
<p>Both sides benefited from this international marrying out of
their gene
pool, Frantz says. The Americans "were very creative and willing to
take chances - they just didn't have the technical know-how. Lino
didn't speak any English at all, but when someone would ask about a
technique, he would demonstrate it and the others would watch." </p>
<p>The experience changed more than just the people involved. "It
raised
the technical level not only in American studio glass, but studio glass
worldwide," Frantz says.</p>
<p>As serious collectors are aware, Tagliapietra's glass has
grown
incredibly adventurous in the last 30 years. Strong on brilliant color,
his works use traditional techniques such as blowing, cane-making and
cutting, which he adapts to never-before-seen forms.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Tagliapietra engaged in joint ventures with
America's
most famous glass artist, Dale Chihuly, a fellow teacher at Pilchuck.
One of the best known is a series called "Venetians." </p>
<p>Glassmaking is a craft based on apprenticeship, and two
masters working
together in a studio stimulate each other and further train the
assistants who surround them. Chihuly's writhing glass "Chandeliers" -
strongly inspired by their Italian counterparts - hung all over Venice
in 1996. </p>
<p>Of the Tagliapietra-Chihuly working relationship, Frantz says,
"Lino
opened up a whole new door of what was possible, and Dale's work
changed dramatically after that experience." </p>
<p>Browse the recent photo book <i>Chihuly 365 Days</i>
(Abrams, $29.95) to see what the American master can do. Included is a
2006 image of Tagliapietra working with Chihuly and his team in Tacoma,
Wash.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is home to one of Chihuly's massive glass
sculptures, the 21-foot <i>Flame of Liberty</i>, which hangs in the
center of the National Liberty Museum on Chestnut Street, near
Independence Hall.</p>
<p>The museum, dedicated to promoting human equality and
tolerance, was
founded by publisher Irvin J. Borowsky, who happens to be a glass
collector. Its major fund-raiser, the "Glass Now" auction, benefits the
institution while increasing public awareness of contemporary
glassmakers. </p>
<p>In addition to the Chihuly, the museum has about 125 themed
pieces. "We
have outstanding glass art that fits into our entire objective,"
Borowsky says.</p>
<p>He and his wife bought their first piece, by Harvey Littleton,
from
Philadelphia's Snyderman Gallery. They still have that work, Borowsky
says, and "we learned about other artists." Collecting has taken them
to more than 60 countries.</p>
<p>Over the years, Borowsky has had lunch with Tagliapietra in
Venice. His relationship with Chihuly led to the creation of <i>Flame
of Liberty</i>, which is so large a ceiling had to be removed so it
could be hung properly.</p>
<p>Examples of glass art can be found at most modernism shows and
auctions. Judith Miller's <i>20th-Century Glass</i>
(Dorling Kindersley, $35.80) features an excellent chapter on
"Contemporary & Studio Glass," which notes: "The 1980s and '90s saw
increased variety and vibrancy in a rapidly developing market, with
thousands of artists constantly pushing the boundaries of glass art to
new limits."</p>
<p>Among the offerings for the Oct. 25-26 Sollo Rago Modern
Auction in
Lambertville, assistant director Bernadette Rubbo points out two strong
pieces: an early Chihuly glass cylinder from 1984 (presale estimate
$10,000 to 15,000) and a Dominick Labino sculpture from the 1970s
"Emergence" series ($5,000 to $7,000).</p>
<p>Take a chance on an emerging glassmaker, and you might
purchase a piece
for under $1,000. But major works by most established artists sell in
the four- to five-figure range on the secondary market.</p>
<p>Of the contemporary scene, Rubbo says, "There are a lot of
different
studios and very talented glass artists. They have access to a wide
variety of innovative techniques, and the glass is very complex." </p>
<p></p>
<hr><font face="Arial" size="2">"Antiques" appears monthly in The
Inquirer. Read Karla Albertson's recent work at <a
href="http://go.philly.com/kleinalbertson">http://go.philly.com/kleinalbertson</a>.
</font> </div>
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