Studio Glass Collection

Virtual Exhibition

Weil Atrium and Williamson Galleries

Overview

In March of 1962, a seismic shift occurred in the creation of art glass with a workshop led by American glass artists Harvey Littleton (1922–2013) and Dominick Labino (1910–1987) at the Toledo Museum of Art. During this workshop, they introduced advances in technology that enabled glass artists to work independently on a smaller scale instead of relying on skilled teams of workers in a factory setting. This allowed individual artists to work in innovative ways with glass and launched the American Studio Glass movement. Since that time, Studio Glass has continued to flourish, particularly in the American northwest.

For the last 25 years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has highlighted Studio Glass through a series of exhibitions and by seeking out works by masters of this medium to add to the collection. Important acquisitions, such as Littleton’s Orange Triple Movement (1983), showcase the creativity and vision of artists working with this challenging material. With this collection, the Museum hopes to bring attention and appreciation to the accomplishments of the leading artists involved in the Studio Glass movement and to illustrate the breadth and depth of the changing landscape of art glass.

Sponsor

This virtual experience was made possible in part by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Resources

Above (from left to right): Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934), Dinosaur, 2005, free-blown glass, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase with funds provided by Anonymous Donor, Collectors Society, Art Acquisitions Fund, and Decorative Arts Endowment Fund, 2006.8; Stephen Rolfe Powell (American, 1951–2019), Prevailing Manic Jones, 2001, free-blown glass, Gift of The Antiquarian Society of Montgomery, Bowen and Carol Ballard, Jim and Jane Barganier, Richard and Joy Blondheim, Ben and Ginny Cumbus, Chris and Leah Dubberly, Elizabeth Emmet, Bonner and Sister Engelhardt, Herman and Anne Franco, Corinna Gauntt, Barrie and Laura Harmon, W. Inge Hill and Camille Elebash Hill, Mark and Amy Johnson, Samuel and Liza Kaufman, James and Joan Loeb, James and Margaret Lowder, Frank and Jane McFadden, Maurice and Peggy Mussafer, Phillip and Gloria Rawlings, Bruce and Emilie Reid, Philip Sellers, Adam and Dawn Schloss, Jan K. Weil, Laurie Weil and Tommy Wool, William and Pat Williamson and Anonymous Donor, 2004.8; Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934), Angel Tear, 2011, free-blown glass, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase, Decorative Arts Fund, and gift made possible through the generosity of the artist, Laura and Barrie Harmon, Winifred and Charles Stakely, and Schantz Galleries, 2019.1

“To believe in the power and validity of your imagination enough to be able to transform what is imagined into what is real, takes courage.”

Ginny Ruffner, from Creativity: The Flowering Tornado

How to Enjoy

Navigation

Use your keyboard arrows (left and right) or click with your mouse / tap with your finger and drag to look around.

Move

Use your keyboard arrows (up and down) or click / tap the floor rings to move forward.

Zoom

Use your scroll wheel or pinch with your fingers to zoom in and out.

Tags

Click with your mouse, tap with your finger, or hover over for information about the works of art in the galleries.

Different Ways to Explore

Dollhouse View

Click to view and rotate a top-down view of the entire gallery in 3D.

Floor Plan View

Click to view the floor plan of the galleries.

Fullscreen

Expand 3D showcase to full screen.

VR Mode

Click to launch the galleries in virtual reality.

Artists on View

Rick Beck

American | Born 1960

Sonja Blomdahl

American | Born 1952

Cal Breed

American | Born 1972

Robin Grebe

American | Born 1957

Richard Jolley

American | Born 1952

Joey Kirkpatrick

American | Born 1952

Cam Langley

American | 1948–2013

Harvey K. Littleton

American | 1922–2013

Dante Marioni

American | Born 1964

Benjamin Moore

American | Born 1952

William Morris

American | Born 1957

Stephen Rolfe Powell

American | 1951–2019

Ginny Ruffner

American | Born 1952

Paul J. Stankard

American | Born 1943

Lino Tagliapietra

Italian | Born 1934

Cappy Thompson

American | Born 1952

Also in the Collection

Though not included in this virtual experience, Dale Chihuly’s Emerald Soft Cylinder with Khiva Red Lip Wrap (2002) is another example of the Museum’s Studio Glass collection.

Vivid color and undulating organic forms like those of Emerald Soft Cylinder with Khiva Red Lip Wrap are synonymous with the name of Chihuly, who is known around the world as an energetic, innovative, master glass artist. The Soft Cylinder series was inspired by Navaho blankets and Northwest Coast Indian baskets. Chihuly was “struck by the grace of the slumped, sagging forms. I wanted to capture this grace in glass. The breakthrough for me was recognizing that heat was the tool to be used with gravity to make these forms…sagging under their own weight.”

Resources

Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941), Emerald Soft Cylinder with Khiva Red Lip Wrap, 2002, free-blown glass, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase with funds provided by Anonymous Donor and Art Acquisitions Fund, 2006.13 © Dale Chihuly. Licensed by ARS, New York, NY
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