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Issue 145 | Winter

Editor's Letter

by Andrew Page

The sight of molten glass taking shape at the end of a pipe fills seats at demonstrations. Frozen in mid-melt, kiln-formed glass transfixes viewers at galleries. Its unique plasticity gives glass a powerful role as a record of transformation, an aspect with great metaphoric potential. The inspiring mutability of glass comes to mind when considering how the field of glass art and design is undergoing a period of profound change. Demographic shifts in the loyal collector base that sustained its growth for decades are reshuffling the economics and forcing innovation in galleries and artist studios. New technologies are competing with, if not displacing, hot glass studios as the showpieces of college and university art departments. And the steady march of globalization is finally encroaching on price points at the high end of design, putting long-standing glass houses in Europe under pressure.

The feature articles in this edition of GLASS, while spanning the globe, could be grouped under the heading of  “a field in transition.”

Hourglass

In memoriam: Klaus Moje (1936–2016); Rui Sasaki wins Borowsky Prize; Silvia Levenson and Bruno Amadi awarded 2016 Glass in Venice prizes; Joyce J. Scott named 2016 MacArthur Fellow, receives the Glass Art Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Cappy Thompson discusses her new engraved work; Pilchuck destigmatizes pipemaking, exhibits top makers’ work in Seattle

Reviews

Judith Schaechter at Claire Oliver Gallery, New York; Brad Copping at the Art Gallery of Peterborough in Peterborough, Ontario; Jerry Pethick at the Vancouver Art Gallery and Kamloops Art Gallery, British Columbia; Barbara Earl Thomas at Bainbridge Island Musem of Art in Bainbridge Island, Washington; Dale Chihuly at Schantz Galleries, Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Francesco Gennari at Galerie Stadtpark, Krems, Austria.

Reflection

by Andrew Page

The late Klaus Moje championed disciplined technique, yet encouraged his students to break rules.

Features

The Navigator

by Scott Benefield

Sculptor Bertil Vallien, whose career has balanced the dual roles of artist and designer within a factory system, is now an integral part of keeping Sweden's Kosta Boda afloat in an age of globalization.

The Encounter

by Bruno Andrus

How the Czechoslovakian Pavilion at Expo 67 changed the course of glass art in North America

Taking Wing

by Victoria Josslin

In her art practice and role as Pilchuck’s artistic director, Tina Aufiero embraces new technologies and approaches in pursuit of pure expression.

Wither the Tide

by Ivana Jirasek

Is the high-water mark for Australian glass ahead or behind?

Glass: The UrbanGlass Quarterly, a glossy art magazine published four times a year by UrbanGlass has provided a critical context to the most important artwork being done in the medium of glass for more than 40 years.