On May 14th, Lino Tagliapietra will make a personal appearance at a pop-up exhibition in Boston for an afternoon reception hosted by Schantz Galleries. Titled "A Golden Age of Glass," the Schantz exhibit will feature a new series of work by the maestro in "avventurine" glass. Also known as "Goldstone glass," this is a unique type of glittering glass studded with bits of copper or gold mineral that shares its name with a variety of quartz with mineral inclusions. Aventurine glass dates back to at least 17th-century (Corning says 15th-century) Venice, and requires low-oxygen conditions during melting, as well as a strategic lowering of temperature at a key phase of the process for the metal inclusions to properly form. It is one of the hardest types of glass to work with from the furnace, with failure a constant risk given the complexity of the precise temperature changes required. Annealing is another hazardous aspect of this unforgiving material.
Testament to Lino's great skill and knowledge of the material, he is able to achieve complex torquing forms in this type of glass, such as the 21-inch-tall Fenice (2016) which winds its way skyward from a crescent base, the entire sculpture precisely balanced and unusually elegant.
"The material is very important and beautiful, but it is important to make something special," says Lino in the exhibition catalog. "Sometimes I feel this is not glass ... I feel the absolute magic of a material that came from the past."
On display at Schantz Galleries' ProjectSpace on Newbury Street through May 22nd, the exhibit is open from Thursday through Sundays, 11 AM to 5 PM.
IF YOU GO:
Lino Tagliapietra "A Golden Age of Glass" Through May 22, 2016 Opening Reception: May 14, 2016, 3 PM to 6 PM Schantz Galleries ProjectSpace:Boston 211 Newbury Street Boston, Massachussetts Tel: 413-298-3044 Exhibition Hours: Thursday – Sunday 11am-5pm