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
