Glassblowing: Video Lectures

Studio glass pioneer Fritz Dreisbach offers a survey of the first decades of American studio glass. Dreisbach was a founding member of the Glass Art Society, 2002 recipient of the Society's Lifetime Achievement Award, and is an unofficial historian of the American Studio Glass movement. He was the recipient of the Museum's 1993 Rakow Commission, and his commissioned work celebrated 30 years of studio glass. In the early years, he traveled the country with a portable furnace and annealer, demonstrating glassblowing and organizing workshops. Since, he has taught in every school and major glass program in the U.S. and has traveled the world. He has inspired so many artists to work with glass that he has rightly been dubbed the "Johnny Appleseed" of the American Studio Glass movement.

Enjoy a free lecture by Richard Marquis, glassblower and collector of beat-up, vintage objects. Marquis has had an extraordinary influence on the development of contemporary studio glass, in America and around the world. His work is humorous, ironic, smart, and beautifully—some might say obsessively—made. As an artist, Marquis is admired for his understanding of color and form as much as for his humor and willingness to experiment. As a glassblower, he has influenced an entire generation of artists working in glass who aspire to his technical mastery and the originality of his vision. Marquis' work is displayed in Masters of Studio Glass: Richard Marquis, on view February 16, 2013--February 2, 2014.

"Masters of Studio Glass: Joel Philip Myers and Steven I. Weinberg" was the first in a series of focus exhibitions celebrating the diverse work of contemporary studio glass artists. It examined the careers of two well-respected artists who work in glassblowing and glass casting. While Myers explores vibrant color in his painterly, blown vessels, Weinberg focuses on the optical qualities of the material, creating molded structures inside his often colorless sculptures.

Dante Marioni's sophisticated and boldly colored contemporary vessels are inspired by ancient Greek and Etruscan forms that reflect the rich history of classical Mediterranean pottery and bronzes. The son of studio glass pioneer Paul Marioni, Dante learned traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques from some of the greatest masters in contemporary glass. He began blowing glass at the age of 19, and presented his first solo gallery show, in Seattle, four years later. Since the strong start of his career, Marioni has garnered international recognition and acclaim for his elegant and inventive work in glass.