420 West 14th St.
New York NY 10014
212-414-4014 (ph)
212-414-2636 (fax)

Abstract expressionist, brutalist and pop-art influences resonating in richly colored glass forms with intricate surface treatment, firmly based in the 20th century Italian design idiom, characterize the work of Lino Tagliapietra.

Suzanne Frantz, former curator at the Corning Museum of Glass, once described him as “one of the few glassmakers who can successfully transmit his own sensitivity and intellect into an inanimate object.”

The work included in Don’t Look Back, revolves around the central theme of the journey. The nucleus of the exhibition will be an installation of new pieces from the Endeavor and Venice series. Referencing the America’s Cup boat - the Endeavor - Lino’s hanging boats, evoke a sense of grace and adventure, like a fleet embarking. They will be surrounded by six Venice panels which are an abstract representation of the city. The exhibition will also feature a number of blown and cut vessels from the Mandara, Makah, Niomea, Stromboli and Vienna series.

The most important journey documented in the exhibition is the one Tagliapietra has travelled himself. He has spent over 60 years in the hotshop and still, after a lifetime of work, the material remains magical to him. His exuberance, eagerness and enthusiasm are embodied in every piece and fill the viewer with great expectation that he is ‘only just beginning.’

Tagliapietra started his career at the age of twelve, as an apprentice in a glass factory on his native island of Murano. At twenty-one he earned the title of maestro vetraio - master glassmaker. In the late 1970s he set off to pursue the path of a studio artist. Arguably the greatest ambassador of Italian glassmaking in service of art, Lino Tagliapietra has been a most sought-after educator, collaborator and consultant to many artists working with glass worldwide. None have taken greater advantage of his generosity than the Americans. Among the many who consider him their teacher are artists such as Dante Marioni, Richard Marquis and Dale Chihuly.

The recipient of most awards available to an artist in his field, represented in many major museums around the world, Tagliapietra has followed a path few have chosen and in which he has succeeded above all. Ms. Frantz, recently wrote of him: “How often does an artist accomplish something specific and concrete that opens new possibilities exceeding his or her own work and, as a result, affects the course of art history? Without hyperbole, that is the truth about Lino Tagliapietra and his influence on the history of blown glass. Thanks largely to him the technical standard of the craft was raised world-wide and the former greatness of Murano lives on in a variety of innovative and evolving incarnations in Seattle, Amsterdam, Canberra, and countless other sites.”

Artist Information
Additional Available Works
About
CV