1996

In this time line I pull quotes to illustrate a thread in popular and scholarly writing and criticism about glass. Here we will see current glass artists defending their art against the accusations and separating themselves from these stereotypes and, hopefully, find out how and where the now-common opinion was born. Fundamentally, the general thesis seems to be born of the question, What Is Art? This question I will leave to others to answer, here I am only documenting the written history of a popular way of thinking and a popular taste.

1996 Jonathan Lerner:

" Few gifts are as timeless or exhilarating as a piece of fine art. And these days, the most intriguing new work is being done in glass. Think not of etched panels or crystal figurines from art-glass factories like Lalique or Steuben but of unique works with bold shapes, unexpected textures and luminous hues - the creations of contemporary studio - glass artists. Dale Chihuly, for instance, an a edged master, builds enormous abstract vessels and sculptures that blaze with color yet seem nearly weightless. Rising star Dante Marioni, who at 32 is no older than the contemporary art-glass movement itself, achieves a fine balance between austerity and exuberance. His pitchers, vases and bowls share a breathtaking classical symmetry, but their exaggerated height and saturated colors give them a cartoonlike playfulness.

If the range of art glass expresses contradiction, so does glass itself. It is molten when worked but later cool and hard to the touch, sensuous yet brittle, fragile but strong - and plastic enough to assume virtually any shape. These qualities - plus plus its beguiling ability to transmit, hold and reflect light - male studio glass the hottest thing in the world of arts and crafts today. "Oh, it's seductive," says Jean Sosin of Birmingham, Michigan, who has been collecting art glass since 1971. "The first time I saw it was in a storefront gallery. A tremendous amount of light was focused on all this glass. The color! I was overwhelmed."

Modern art glass originated thirty years ago, when two things happened. Thanks to new technologies, glass with a lower melting point became available, freeing glassworking from almost blast-furnace temperatures. At the same time, Harvey Littleton, then a professor of art at the University of Wisconsin, put forth his vision of designer and craftman as one person. Littleton's ideas developed out of familiarity with the Corning Glass Works, where his father was director of research. There, as was typical in other factories, pieces were made by skilled workers following the plans of designers who often had little personal knowledge of glassmaking. "Harvey put the artist back into the factory," says William Warmus, a former curator at the Corning Museum of Glass, who publishes a specialist newsletter called The Value of Glass.

Many of the early pioneers - Dan Dailey, William Carlson, Mark Peiser, Joel Philip Myers, Mary Shaffer and Dante Marioni's own father, Paul, among others - came to glass from ceramics, metalwork and other craft backgrounds. At the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and the Pilchuck Glass School outside Seattle, and at a growing number of university programs, they spent the early years learning, and pushing, the limits of the medium.

"The technical tools were in place by 1980 or so," observes Warmus. "Now the new generation is saying, `OK, we can do the techniques; let's have meaning.'" As glass matures as a medium of artistic expression, its sculptural and narrative possibilities are being explored. Many artists now mix glass with other media, including metal, wood and fibers. The opening of glass-specialized commercial galleries and important recent museum acquisitions - like the Toledo Museum of Art's prize, the collection of George and Dorothy Saxe of San Francisco - signal the mediums arrival and usher contemporary glass from its roots in the crafts to the realm of fine art.

Compared with crafts, glass art is expensive. You can easily pay $25,000 to $100,000 or more for the work of such renowned masters as Chihuly, Howard Ben Tre, Christopher Ries and Tom Patti, and $7,000 to $15,000 for pieces by other established artists. Even students just emerging in the field ask four-figure prices.

The high prices reflect the enthusiasm of the growing market. But glass is also costly to work with. Artists study and apprentice for years to become skilled. Once they have equipped a studio, they run up staggering utility bills to keep their furnaces fired. There's always the risk of breakage. Hiring skilled colleagues also ups the cost, few glass artists actually work unaided, despite Harvey Littleton's enchanting image of the solitary artist/craftsman. As many as a dozen people might be needed to produce an especially complex piece like one of Chihuly's diaphanous yet intensely colored "basket sets," in which many smaller vessels seem to be afloat within a large one.

For the beginning collector, people in the glass world unanimously stress self-education. "The material is so beautiful in itself," says Benjamin Moore, longtime educational coordinator at Pilchuck, whose own work runs to rigorously geometric and stunningly simple sculptural pieces and light fixtures. "Even a broken chunk of glass passes and refracts the light. But for collectors, this is a big drawback. It just doesn't take much of an eye to respond to it."

"Read. Go to conferences. Look at a lot of glass," advises Jean Sosin. "Then don't be influenced by anyone. I decided at the start that rather than try to get something from every artist, I would collect only who I thought was good, and I was fortunate because these turned out to be the masters. I still collect in depth: when an artist's work changes, I purchase a piece."

To learn more, "Go directly to the artists," urges Martha Drexler Lynn, former curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "But if you do, play square. If you knock out the commercial galleries, the artists ultimately lose their venues and the validation of the dealer's eye. Besides, you do not make a world-class collection by bargain hunting."

Strong ties have developed between glass artists in this country and elsewhere. The international exhibition "Venezia Aperto Vetro," which closed last month, featured the work of some 100 top-flight talents from a dozen nations. "The show's name literally meant `Venice Open Glass.'" says London-based organize Dan Klein. "But we MA mean, `Opening our minds to what can be done in glass.'"

How open is your mind? A spectacular part of the Venice exhibition comes to Kansas City this month. Dale Chihuly, working for more than a year with traditional glass artisans in Finland, Ireland and Mexico and on the Venetian island of Murano, produced enormous, fantastically colored "chandeliers" that were hung above Venice's canals, from palazzi and in public squares. Now they will be displayed at the Kemper Museum. "I'm obsessed with color," says Chihuly, whose personality is as flamboyant as his art. "I never saw one I didn't like.""

Lerner, J. Lerner, Jonathan. "Hot glass.(studio glass)." December 1, 1996. Town & Country. 1996. Retrieved November 05, 2009 from accessmylibrary: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-18918665/hot-glass-studio-glass.html

Times obituary for Dan Klein

2009 The Times:

"Dan Klein, who began his career as an opera singer, became a leading authority — and commercial force — in the field of 20th-century decorative arts. Several of the record prices he achieved as an auctioneer during the 1990s remain unbeaten. Glass was Klein’s chief passion, and he did more than any other to embrace the emerging British studio glass movement, encouraging its artists and promoting them to a wider audience.

Son of Middle-European parents, Dan Klein was born in Bombay in 1938. The family moved to London around 1946, and he was educated at Westminster School and at Wadham College, Oxford, where he read Greats. A gifted linguist, he spoke fluent French, German and Italian.

After Oxford he studied singing and was an opera and lieder singer for 12 years from 1966. He became a soloist at Sadler’s Wells, and was a member of Benjamin Britten’s English Opera Group in 1968-73.

Throughout this time he maintained an interest in the decorative arts, buying and selling pieces that caught his eye. Realising that he would not reach the top as a singer, he changed careers in 1978 by opening a gallery in Canonbury, North London, specialising in 20th-century decorative arts and contemporary glass. A scholarly dealer, he staged numerous exhibitions accompanied by illustrated catalogues. They included the designs of Christopher Dresser, the Aesthetic movement and masters of Czech glass. He also staged one-man shows of British artists such as John Piper, Ivor Abrams and Quentin Bell.

In 1984 Klein joined Christie’s as director in charge of 20th-century decorative arts, responsible for sales in London, Monaco, Amsterdam and Geneva. Three years later he became vice-president of Christie’s Switzerland. As an auctioneer he helped to establish many landmark prices, including records for René Lalique, Emile Gallé and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The records for Lalique and Mackintosh still stand.

Klein’s interests were broad, but he specialised in decorative arts from 1850. His particular passion was for modern art glass, and he was one of the first in Britain to collect and write about it. In 1984, before he joined Christie’s, his collection of 1950s glass was sold at Sotheby’s. The first auction of its kind, it provided the market with a benchmark for the future.

Klein was also a prolific author. As well as articles for British and foreign arts magazines, he wrote several books, beginning with The All Colour Book of Art Deco (1974). Reference works which he co-wrote or edited included The History of Glass(1985), Decorative Arts from 1880 to the Present Day (1986) and In the Deco Style (1986). His Glass: A Contemporary Art (1989) is a standard work. His Artists In Glass: Late Twentieth Century Masters In Glass(2001) examined 80 of the world’s leading glass artists.

Klein served as external examiner to the Royal College of Art’s department of glass and ceramics and was on the board of Pilchuck, the world’s foremost glass school, near Seattle.

After leaving Christie’s in 1995 Klein held a variety of appointments. He advised Rosenthal, the German glass and ceramics manufacturer. He was art consultant to Byrne-Sutton & Bonnard, a firm of lawyers in Geneva, specialising in art law. In 1996 he was confirmed as Professor in Glass at the University of Sunderland and he founded Dan Klein Associates, with his partner Alan J. Poole, to promote British and Irish contemporary glass.

In 1997 he joined Phillips as a consultant. In May 2000 he made headlines when he auctioned a Malevich painting for $17 million.

Klein was patron of the Guild of Glass Engravers, a lifetime honorary member of the Contemporary Glass Society and president of the Scottish Glass Society. He and Poole staged an auction of contemporary and modern glass at Bonhams only six weeks ago.

Klein’s large, jointly owned collection of British and Irish contemporary glass is expected to be donated to a British museum.

Dan Klein, writer and authority on the decorative arts, was born on November 4, 1938. He died of cancer on June 28, 2009, aged 70"

The Times Online. "Dan Klein, writer and authority on the decorative arts." July 4, 2009. website accessed July 30, 2009. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6632395.ece

On the Edge reviewed by Dan Klein

2009 Dan Klein:

"On the Edge at Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum was an unexpected pleasure.
Reading about it beforehand I wondered about the real need for an exhibition whose aim was to strengthen links between glass artists in the South West of England and Ireland. But the commitment to an idea by passionate curators is half the battle. The idea for the exhibition was born out of a chance meeting between two artists in glass, Mary Mackey from Ireland and Chinks Grylls from Somerset: ‘sitting together on a long journey, talking about glass we discovered an empathy and understanding that surprised and
delighted us.’ Chinks Grylls, whose work is already in the collection of the Cheltenham Art Gallery, approached Sophia Wilson, the Exhibitions Manager there. She agreed to the idea, helped to choose work and installed the exhibition in a simple small gallery with white painted walls on the ground floor. It was well set out, with the work of 21 artists given ample space to
breathe. The exhibition has proved popular. The main reaction from visitors,
according to Sophia Wilson, has been that they had no idea that glass was
capable of such a variety of expression.

Technically speaking the exhibition includes many ways of making glass, from casting, to blowing, to painting and sandblasting, engraving, mirroring, fusing and mixed media including concrete, textile and knitted wire. The objects had been well chosen and included the work of both established and emerging artists. Colin Reid is a real Master of lost wax casting, his piece
Cello (2006) ample proof of that. Fiaz Elson, who for a long time worked in
his studio, uses the same kind of technique where the main players are
hard-edged forms and radiant inner light. Sally Fawkes who, like Colin Reid, also works in Gloucestershire, delivers what she refers to as ‘layers of visual information’ in an arresting piece where casting is combined with polishing, engraving, mirroring and painting. Another who uses the cast glass technique is Joseph Harrington whose aim is to ‘harness movement and
transience within the fluid yet permanent nature of glass.’ Suzannah Vaughan
very successfully combines blue kiln-cast crystal and polished stark white
concrete in pieces that hint at imagined architecture. Will Shakespeare has
gone the extra mile with Low Tide Quins, a wall piece in hot cast soda glass
with added colours and inserts that works well within the parameters of flat
art. It is good to see somebody who makes his living from production-blown
glassware create such a strong imagery in a unique piece.

Five other glass-blowers include Róisin de Buitléair who has used the ancient Venetian reticello technique to create Catch a Breath, a delightful oversize glass butterfly net that is something of a show stopper. It hangs there waiting for butterflies as much as for anything real or imagined that crosses its path. One of the youngest artists in the show is Emmy-Gai Palmer
whose pieces are made of knitted wire encased in blown glass. ‘The net inclusions are knitted following family traditions; with each stitch, heart-warming memories find their way into my work.’ A genuine feeling of commitment to craft here raises it beyond the modest claims made by the artist.

Sean Campbell is one of a growing number of artists who works in kiln-formed
glass. His piece Moment is a lively wall panel, like a large coloured sketch, in which a sheet of glass fused in a kiln with coloured powders and frits has been broken and re-fired between slightly iridescent glass panels. Among the other mixed-media pieces Susan Kinley’s Channel seamlessly combines printed glass strips, layered silk and stainless-steel gauze, in a
piece suspended on wire and floating in space. The whole is much more than
the sum of its parts.

Reviewing an exhibition of this kind one almost cannot help dividing the work into technical categories, but that also gives entirely the wrong impression of what this collection of work is about. Despite the efforts of museums, galleries and the many gifted artists in glass around the world, developments in the expressive potential of contemporary glass are very
recent indeed. Apart from a slowly growing handful of devotees, only very
few realise how closely glass creation can relate to landscape, to nature,
to poetry, to the whole spectrum of artistic invention. The exhibition is
not about technique, but about the way in which a well-chosen body of glass
in all its different forms can be a touching and enriching experience.

Touring to Swansea’s National Waterfront Museum, 5 April – 31 May, and National Craft Gallery Kilkenny, 16 January – 3 April 2010"

Klein, D. "On the Edge: Contemporary Glass from Ireland and South West England Cheltenham Art Gallery." Crafts Magazine reviews. website accessed July 19, 2009. http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/crafts-magazine/reviews/view/2009/on-the-edge-contemporary-glass-from?from=/crafts-magazine/reviews/

More on Bonhams Contemporary Glass Auction

From Antony Thorncroft @ FT.com:

"Pots are earthbound; glass has an inner light, a kind of soul,” says Dan Klein. As a dealer in modern and contemporary glass he may be biased, but as a former director of 20th-century decorative art at both Christie’s and Phillips he also has the wider perspective.

His current task is to open the eyes of British collectors to the creative possibilities in contemporary glass, a message enthusiastically received in the US where glass sculptures regularly sell for upwards of $100,000. There are keen collectors in the UK, notably Elton John, Sir David Attenborough and Michael Portillo, but glass is associated with craft, and contemporary craft, unlike contemporary art, has an undeserved image problem.

Last month Bonhams held the first auction of modern and contemporary glass in London, with Klein acting as an adviser: to freshen the contents he asked 15 leading and emerging glassmakers (from the 2,000 now working in the UK) to create one-off pieces for the sale.

The results were mixed. The auction room was packed, with overseas bidders acquiring a quarter of the items, but only half the 164 lots on offer sold. (However, all but one of the commissioned sculptures found buyers.) Clare Beck of dealer Adrian Sassoon admits: “It was disappointing that it did not do better and a bit of a surprise considering the growth of interest. Perhaps a secondary market in glass has not yet become established.” However Bonhams reckoned the total of £200,000 encouraging enough to plan another auction in 18 months’ time.

It is for the best if the contemporary glass market develops slowly, in contrast to the rollercoaster upheavals that have convulsed contemporary art. Although glass has a history stretching back 3,500 years, the glass sculptures attracting interest today date back less than 50 years. It was in 1962 that Harvey Littleton melted glass in a homemade pot furnace in the grounds of the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, and liberated glass from the factory to the small workshop, allowing studio glass to emerge as a rival to studio ceramics. The creative possibilities in studio glass were quickly realised, most notably in the US, the Czech Republic and Australia. Progress in the UK was slow but this is changing. “Of all the crafts it is glass that is making the breakthrough,” says Mark Oliver, director of decorative arts at Bonhams.

“Now that people are throwing clutter out of their homes and going minimalist, one well-lit piece of glass can make a greater impact than contemporary art.”

Studio glassmaking is now taught in many British art schools, most notably at Sunderland, Wolverhampton, Farnham and the RCA, and in 2004 the Victoria & Albert Museum opened a gallery devoted to contemporary glass. Last month the Craft Council held Collect, its annual selling fair, which attracted over 10,000 visitors to the Saatchi Gallery, where 13 galleries were successfully offering glass. Sassoon alone sold 40 pieces and crafts gallery Katy Jones four works by Ritsue Mishima priced between £4,400 and £7,500.

To help things along The Art Fund gave £75,000 to museums who wanted to add contemporary craft from the fair to their collections and two invested in glass: the National Museum of Wales bought a piece by Rachael Woodman for £7,500 (although small works by this glassmaker were on offer for £600) and the V&A acquired “Free-Essence -6” by Japanese artist Niyoko Ikuta, for £5,700. Another enthusiast for contemporary glass is the National Galleries of Scotland, which paid £7,200 at Bonhams for a wing goblet by Lucio Bubacco.

Perhaps the greatest appeal of contemporary glass is that the entry price for new collectors seeking attractive original sculptures can be a few hundred pounds. At the Bonhams auction “Soft cylinder”, a colourful bowl by Dale Chihuly, the biggest name in contemporary glassmaking, made just £840, while the highest price was the £13,800 which secured “Stonehenge”, a vase by Chihuly’s longtime associate William Morris. In comparison with contemporary art this is small change.

However, the prices commanded by the most admired glassmakers are rising rapidly: a decade ago one of Anna Dickinson’s vessels inspired by the antique might be acquired for £50; two sold at Bonhams for £5,400 each. With such inflation, and relatively few knowledgeable dealers (and collectors), questionable practices have already emerged. In the US, where the market is more sophisticated, many dealers take work on commission from the glassmakers and talk up prices.

For instance, there have been doubts about the reliability of the record $400,000 paid in New York for a sculpture by the pioneering Czech craftsman Stanislav Libensky. Another work by Libensky, “Queen”, a red cast glass sculpture almost 70cm high, also caused controversy at Bonhams. It was actually created after his death, under the supervision of his wife and fellow glassmaker Jaroslava Brychtova, from a mould. The appearance of limited editions of popular pieces can confuse potential collectors, and although “Queen” was estimated at up to £15,000 it went for £10,800. It had previously sold privately for a reputed £40,000.

A problem for prospective collectors of modern glass is that there is only one gallery in the UK, Vessel, specialising solely in glass. The major dealers, such as Klein and Sassoon, represent the leading glassmakers but lack exhibition space. For anyone interested, the first port of call should be the Crafts Council, which holds portfolios of all the leading British makers.

Adrian Sassoon will be showing at the International Ceramics Fair at London’s Park Lane Hotel this month (June 11-14) while in October the Craft Council holds Origin, a selling exhibition that includes glass, in the grounds of Somerset House. If you cannot wait, contemporary glass features in a 20th-century design auction that Bonhams is holding in New York on Thursday, where work by William Morris, Toots Zynsky and William Carson, who all sold well at Bonhams in London, is on offer, with estimates below $10,000. Despite its long collecting history decorative glass still seems remarkably cheap."

Thorncroft, A. "Glass is making the breakthrough." June 6, 2009. Financial Times, website accessed June 8, 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5e31a4e2-50a4-11de-9530-00144feabdc0.html

Bonham's Contemporary Glass Auction, May 2009

The Bonhams (first ever) Contemporary and Modern Glass Auction held on May 19, about a week ago, hardly made a splash in the larger world of art news. For this auction, there wasn't much outside interest; most press available online came from the artists in the auction themselves and from the local papers that supported them (see the Selkirk article on Annica Sandstrom and David Kaplan, whose commissioned works did not sell).

It was reported by Bonhams that this auction came on the heels of the 2007 sale of a Brychtova and Libensky which reached a record amount at auction for a glass piece. But what do record prices really mean except that there is someone with that much money to spend, and maybe the article should be about the buyer and not the piece of art, because astronomical prices paid for works of art seem to arouse our interest in the mind and lifestyle of the buyer rather than the art? So why is glass being marketed in this tedious manner? For glass, studio glass especially, this kind of hype is uncalled for, but maybe that is the only hype an auction house knows...and that is what is unfortunate for art in a market run by auction houses. But while the auction house perpetuates the stereotype that art is about money and not expression, it does give anyone the opportunity to bid on a piece of art that they like and want to own, whereas they might not have that opportunity in a gallery or elsewhere.

But who decided that what studio glass needed was to follow the trajectory of other types of contemporary art? As glass follows the path of other mediums, mainly painting and sculpture, and goes from main stream gallery to auction house, does it lose some of its identity (the hot shop, the performance, the technicality, the years of training to become a master, the history of the factory) to the hegemony of the art market?

I was not surprised that only 54% of the pieces sold. I was surprised that the artists commissioned to submit works did not sell very well, and most sold only one out of two pieces if at all, and those for extremely low prices. This was a grand experiment, however, and more experiments are called for to find out what will work to find appreciative homes for the art and to help artists make a living.

From the Bonhams website:
"On Tuesday 19th May Bonhams, in association with Dan Klein Associates, will be holding its inaugural sale of Modern and Contemporary Glass, the first of its kind in the UK. The decision follows the sale in 2007 of a piece of contemporary glass by Bonhams in New York, a cast glass sculpture by Czech artist Stanislav Libensky, which achieved the world record price of $400,000.

The preview at Bonhams in New Bond Street will coincide with the major contemporary decorative arts event of the year ‘Collect, organised by the Crafts Council and held at the Saatchi Gallery on King’s Road, Chelsea. Prices are expected to range from £500 to £15,000'

Mark Oliver, Bonhams Director of 20th Century Decorative Arts, firmly believes “The sale in May is an exciting first in Britain, and a marvelous opportunity for collectors of post-war glass to secure some key pieces, many of which will be one-off examples produced exclusively for this sale. Our working relationship with Dan Klein Associates coupled with Bonhams’ International network has meant that the profile of the sale is likely to attract many keen bidders from around the world.”

LEADING ARTISTS TO MAKE WORK SPECIFICALLY FOR THE AUCTION

As a special feature of the Bonhams auction eighteen artists, some emerging, some firmly established, have been invited to make work for the auction. The established artists include Alison Kinnaird whose installation is a feature of the Scottish Parliament building and Peter Furlonger, who is known for his exquisite lettering on glass. Among the emerging artists are three recent graduates from the Royal College of Art, Heike Brachlow, Sabrina Cant and Joseph Harrington, all of whom have already exhibited widely.

The body of the sale will include glass dating from 1950 to the present day with work from American and European artists. Among the earliest pieces included in the sale are a rare vase designed by Piero Fornasetti for the Venetian firm of S.A.L.I.R and two experimental Isle of Wight pieces.

“I was first attracted to the whole area of contemporary glass in the mid 1970s”, recalls Dan Klein, of Dan Klein Associates. “Then it seemed different from any glass I had ever seen. It was exciting, innovative and I felt here was the beginning of something new that had great potential for development. I was not alone in my enthusiasm and new ideas in glass spread like wild fire from America to Europe, the Far East and Australia.”

The thirty years between than and now have seen more artistic and technical innovation than perhaps any other area of the arts. Contemporary glass plays a significant role and has earned its place in art history with various museums around the world devoted solely to the medium. As the collecting public becomes more aware of the current state of the art along with its brief but exciting history it is exactly the right moment to hold the first auction in Great Britain devoted to this art form. Mark Oliver’s invitation to Dan Klein Associates to collaborate with Bonhams was enthusiastically accepted and the auction promises to offer a mixture of excellent new and historical work”

Artists began working with glass in a studio as opposed to a factory environment in the 1960s. Since then the impact of artists working in glass worldwide has been nothing short of amazing. Artists such as Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova in the Czech Republic, Dale Chihuly in the United States, Erwin Eisch in Germany and Bertil Vallien in Sweden (all of whose work is included in the sale) are all in major museum collections, with Dale Chihuly’s chandelier extravaganza the centre piece of the entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The sale will include work by some of Britain’s best-known artists in glass such as David Reekie, Anna Dickinson and Steven Newell. All over Britain from John O’Groats to Land’s End artists have set up studios and the response to their work has been enthusiastic. In Britain The Contemporary Glass Society is a thriving organisation as is the Guild of Glass Engravers. In 2004 The V&A Museum, opened the new Merit Rausing Gallery devoted to international contemporary glass, next door to the older glass gallery. Jennifer Opie, senior curator of Glass & Ceramics at the V&A at the time, wrote in her book ‘Contemporary International glass’ (published to coincide with the opening of the new gallery) “In the last two decades, glass has come of age as a material for a global art form. There is an increasing conviction that it is the material for the future – for art, and for science.”

This is the first collaboration between Dan Klein Associates (Dan Klein and Alan Poole) and Bonhams, although Dan Klein is no stranger to Bonhams, having been International Executive Director of Phillips from 1998-2001 prior to its merger with Bonhams. Dan Klein Associates has been involved in staging major exhibitions including two Venice Glass Biennales ‘Venezia Aperto Vetro’ in 1996 and 1998, 21st Century British Glass in association with Daniel Katz Limited in 2005 and Lucio Bubacco’s extraordinary installation entitled ‘Eternal Temptation’ at SOFA Chicago in 2008."

Bonhams. "World Record Of $400,000 Contemporary Glass At Bonhams Triggers First Modern & Contemporary Glass Sale In Britain" website accessed May 26, 2009. http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?Screen=HeadlineDetails&iHeadlineNo=4054

From the Wall Street Journal:
"Bonhams on May 19 will hold an auction of contemporary glass objects. The catalog cover features a vessel formed from threads of bright color, "More Tropical Chaos" (1999), by American artist Toots Zynsky (estimate: £8,000-£10,000). The auction illustrates the enormous variety of the handmade glass market -- from the purely aesthetic to objects that make more of a statement, such as British artist David Reekie's "Mindless Technology" (2003), a group of four helpless-looking glass robots (estimate: £6,000-£7,000)."

Studer, Margaret. "Combining Craftsmanship and Contemporary Design." May 15, 2009. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed May 26, 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124231769595420031.html

HERE'S A FEW OF THE AUCTION RESULTS: I've inserted post-auction updates into this Bonhams pre-auction press release in square brackets [-], and I've converted from GBP to USD using the conversion rate of May 26, 2009 of 1 GBP to 1.59541 USD. -ABJ

"Bonhams in association with Dan Klein Associates is excited to announce the first sale of modern and contemporary glass to take place in the UK on Tuesday 19 May 2009 which will be on view at the same time as ‘Collect’ here in London.

Please find enclosed a complimentary catalogue for the sale, if you would like further information, condition reports or would like to register for the sale please contact one of the department, details below.

The 164 lot sale [of which 54% of works sold during the auction] encompasses works from glass artists worldwide, made between 1950 to the present day including Italian artists and producers include
Lucio Bubacco [Lot 19, goblet, 1995, sold $11,478],
Dino Martens [Lot 76, sculptural bottle, 1954, not sold. Lot 77, blown glass vase, 1950, sold $3,826],
[Gian Paolo] Martinuzzi [Lot 78, clear sphere on drift wood base, 1985, not sold. Lot 79, clear bowl on drift wood base, 1985, sold $2678. Lot 80 clear panel drift wood base, 1985, not sold],
[Archimede] Seguso [Lot 111, Merletto leaf bowl, 1952, not sold. Lot 113, rare Merletto vase, sold $9,947],
Barovier and Toso [Lot 4, stylized bird form vase, 1950, sold $1,817. Lot 5, Vetro Barbarico, tapered vase, 1950, sold $1,626. Lot 6, vase, 1960, sold $2,104. Lot 7, Lenti vase, 1940, sold $1722. Lot 8, tall vase, 1965, not sold],
Fulvio Bianconi [Lot 10, rare vase, 1950, not sold. Lot 11, Venini Spicchi vase, 1950, sold $1,626. Lot 12, Venini Spicchi vase, 1950, sold $1,243. Lot 13, Venini Pezzato, 1951, sold $8,034], and
Venini [of 12 lots under Venini, 9 sold],

as well as other European and Scandanavian works by
Bengt Edenfalk [Lot 36, Talata vase, 1960, sold $1,913. Lot 37, Iitala vase, 1962, sold $1,339. Lot 38, Talatta vase, 1960, sold $689],
Mieke Groot [Lot 44, mold blown free formed vase, 1987, not sold. Lot 45, mold blown free form vase, 1987, not sold.],
Jirí Harcuba [Lot 50, rare charger with deer, 1959, sold $4,973. Lot 51, 'Zak' engrave panel, 2008, sold $669],
Klaus Moje [Lot 85, mosaic bowl, 1989, not sold] and
Stanislav Libensky [Libensky and Brychtova, Lot 73, large cast glass sculpture 'Queen', sold $17,217], amongst others.

From America there will be works by
Dale Chihuly [Lot 22 (above), soft cylinder, 1992, sold $13,391. Lot 23, sea form, date ?, sold $5,739. Lot 24, sea form 3 piece, 1987, sold $4,975],
Toots Zynsky [Lot 137, "More Tropical Chaos" vessel form, 1999, sold $17,217.],
William Morris [Lot 81, "Stonehenge" sculptural vase, 1984, sold $21,999],
Steven Newell [Lot 94, glass charger 'King's Counsel', 1985, not sold. Lot 95, 'King's Counsel" series vessel, 1985, sold $2,582],
Sam Herman [Lot 52, vase, 1971, sold $1,052. Lot 53, bowl, 1975, sold $1,913. Lot 54, form, 1979, not sold],
Steve Klein [Lot 63, kiln-formed sculpture, 1979, not sold] and
Danny Lane [Lot 69, irregular spun glasses 'Bass n Flute', 1990, not sold].

Alongside Australian glass by
Giles Bettison [Lot 9, murrine vessel, 1996, sold $3,061],
Gerry King [Lot 65, large steel/glass sculpture "Toledo Blade 65/06", date ?, not sold],
Nick Mount [Lot 89, 'Female Nude', 1992, not sold],
Brian Hirst [Lot 61, 'Cycladic Series-Guardian II' blown and cast vessel, 1990, not sold. Lot 62, votive vessel, 1990, not sold] and
Ann Robinson from New Zealand [Lot 106, cast vessel, 1990, not sold].

As well as pieces by Japanese artists
Etsuko Nishi [Lot 96, pate-de-verre vessel, 1996, sold $8,608],
Kyohei Fujita [Lot 43, square mold blown box and cover, 1985, sold $5,739],
Naoko Sato [Lot 112, 'Transisiton' cast and kiln form glass, 1999, sold $1,913] and
Keiko Mukaide [Lot 75, vessel form, 1997, not sold].

From the UK there will be amongst others works by
Tessa Clegg [Lot 25, lost wax cast glass vessel form, 1998, sold $4,782. Lot 26 (shown above), lost wax cast glass 'Play box III', sold $5,739. Lot 27, lost wax cast glass form, sold $4,209],
Matthew Curtis [Lot 29, glass sculpture, 2005, not sold],
David Reekie [Lot 102, 'Unimpressed' sculpture, 1991, not sold. Lot 103, 'Mindless Technology, figural glass group, 2003, not sold],
Anna Dickinson [Lot 34, vessel, 1999, sold $8,608. Lot 35, vessel, 1992, sold $$8,608 as well],
Patrick Reyntiens O.B.E [Lot 107, 2 commissioned leaded glass panels, 1989, sold $3,443] and
Richard Morrell [Lot 93, kiln cast sculpture, 1990, sold $8,608].

The sale will culminate with a section of 26 new or recent works by 15 British based artists asked to consign works for the sale by Dan Klein.
They are
Karen Akester [Lot 138, 'Bug Boy' sculptural figure, 2009, sold $1,434. Lot 139, 'Rocket Boy' sculptural figure, 2009, sold $1,148],
Heike Brachlow [Lot 140, cast glass sculpture, 2009, not sold. Lot 141, double cast glass sculpture, 2009, sold $5,356],
Sabrina Cant [Lot 142, kiln cast sculpture, 2009, sold $11,478. Lot 143, kiln cast and concrete sculpture, 2009, not sold],
Suresh Dutt [Lot 144, cast glass and panels, 2006, sold $7,652. Lot 145, cast glass form, 2009, not sold], Fiaz Elson [Lot 146, 2 part sculpture, 2008, sold $9,182. Lot 147, 2 part sculpture, 2006, not sold],
Peter Furlonger [Lot 148, vessel, 2009, sold $2,009. Lot 149, cast charger, 2009, sold $1,626], Stephen Gilles and Kate Jones [Lot 150, sculptural bowl, 2009, not sold],
Joseph Harrington, [Lot 151, cast glass sculpture, 2009, not sold. Lot 152, cast glass sculpture, 2009, sold $1,339],
Jonathan Harris [Lot 153, cameo vase, 2009, not sold. Lot 154, cameo vase, 2009, not sold],

Alison Kinnaird M.B.E [Lot 158, lit glass panel, 2009, not sold. Lot 159 (with Dante Marioni), engraved glass flask, 2007, sold $1,243],
Karl Harron [Lot 155, glass sculpture, 2009, sold $4,782. Lot 156, glass sculpture, 2009, sold $4,974],
Clare Henshaw [Lot 157, vessel, 2007, sold $2,678],
Carl Nordbruch [Lot 160, blown glass sculpture, 2009, sold $3,826. Lot 161, blown glass sculptrue, 2009, sold $3,826],
Annica Sandström and David Kaplan [Lot 162, blown glass on metal stand, 2006, not sold. Lot 163, blown glass on metal stand, 2006, not sold] and
Anthony Scala [Lot 164, 3 part sculpture, 2009, sold $13,773]. "

Bonhams. "Modern and Contemporary Glass May 19 New Bond Street". website accessed May 26, 2009. http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=Design1860GlassSale

Photos: http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r

Dan Klein

Dan Klein is the author of nearly every article you've read about glass.
And Dan Klein Associates, his business, is located in the UK. He is a major force behind the Bonhams Contemporary Glass Auction this month and the author who documented the existence of the works included in this auction, by writing about them in his books and articles; many of the objects cite Dan Klein's books in lieu of a provenance.

From the Institute for International Research in Glass's website:

"Dan Klein was elected Research Professor in Glass at the School at Arts, Design & Media in 1996. He is an author of international standing who writes predominantly on 20th Century Decorative Arts and modern and contemporary glass in particular. He was among the first serious British collectors of contemporary glass. During the 1970s and 1980s he had his own gallery in London specialising in 20th Century Decorative Arts, and from 1985 to 1995 was Director in Charge of the 20th Century Decorative Arts at Christies in London . He had overall responsibility for sales in London , Geneva , Monaco and Amsterdam , and was nominated Vice President of Christies Switzerland in 1990. Numerous world record prices were established in auctions organised by him including world records for Lalique and Galle . Dan is author of numerous articles which have appeared in British, American, Australian, French and German magazines. His first book on the Decorative Arts was the 'All Colour Book of Art Deco', first published by Octopus Books in 1974. Other publications include 'The History of Glass', 'Decorative Arts from 1880 to the Present Day', 'In the Deco Style' and 'Glass, A Contemporary Art', ‘International New Glass: Venzia Aperto Vetro’, and ‘Artists in Glass’. He is a board member of Pichuck [sic] Glass School , USA , Northlands Glass, UK , and a trustee of the National Glass Centre. Dan Klien [sic] is currently Chair of IIRG."

Unknown. "Professor Dan Klein."Accessed May 9, 2009. http://glassresearch.sunderland.ac.uk/research-projects/research-staff/dan-klein

From the website of Dan Klein Associates:

"Dan Klein Associates is based in central London. Dan Klein is a world-authority on contemporary glass. He has written and lectured extensively on the subject and has, with Alan J. Poole, curated important exhibitions. He is also a well-known auctioneer.

Dan Klein Associates organises one exhibition annually at its premises in London. It also publishes a monthly newsletter with detailed information about the activities in the UK and elsewhere of British Artists in Glass. Dan Klein Associates are available for valuations of and advice about both private and corporate glass collections."

Dan Klein Associates website accessed May 9, 2009 .http://www.dankleinglass.com/about/about.html

Bonhams Modern and Contemporary Glass Sale

Sale 17045 - Modern and Contemporary Glass
New Bond Street, 19 May 2009

Here's a list of pieces I'm interested in at the Bonham's Contemporary Glass Auction on May 19, 2009. I agree with the pricing for the most part; while it's not what the artists want or deserve, nor does it compare to contemporary painting and sculpture in other mediums, it is more likely to sell at these prices--and selling, in my opinion, is more important at this stage, than the hammer price. Prices will go up on their own if demand increases (increase in demand is unrelated to increase in artistic talent) so why price everything extraordinarily high (with everything in the thousands as some galleries do)? (Is it only to keep the illusion alive or do they really sell in that range often enough? I don't know.) The auction lacks any famous piece to center around which might have driven prices up. Though their are many famous names present, there are many famous names not present. Because of the names not present this is neither a great nor a comprehensive catalogue to reference as "Modern and Contemporary Glass", but because it is the first of it's kind, and it's best not to tarnish the big pieces and big names on this first go round should the auction tank, we'll play wait and see yet again with the studio glass market and maybe next time there will be some big commissions. Bonham's is priced to sell. The low pricing may bring in a lot of bidders and in doing so drive the prices up.

Lot No: 137

Toots Zynsky (American, born 1951)

'More Tropical Chaos' a sculptural glass Vessel form, 1999
pulled and fused glass threads, in shades of blue, green, red and yellow
50 x 22 x 35cm, marked 'Z' in red

Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000, €8,900 - 11,000
Toots Zynsky's work stands out from all other contemporary glass because of the way it is formed from coloured threads of glass to build a vessel, a technique that may well have been inspired from nest-building. Her work is instantly recognisable not only from its physical appearance, but the colour palette that she uses which has been compared to the plumage of exotic birds.
Please see Jennifer Hawkins Opie' Contemporary International Glass: 60 artists in the V & A', V & A Publications 2005 pp. 138-139 and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 226-229

Lot No: 159

Alison Kinnaird M.B.E. (British, born 1949) and Dante Marrione (American, born 1964)

'Stream' an engraved glass Flask, 2007
copper-wheel engraved
approx 25cm high, signed 'Alison Kinnaird'

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, €1,100 - 1,700
This piece is a collaboration between Alison Kinnaird and glassblower Dante Marrione. The form was blown by Dante Marrione when leading a master class at North Lands Creative glass and later engraved.
Generously donated by the artists, the proceeds going to the North Lands Creative Glass Trust
Please see D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 102-103

Lot Notice

Please note this piece is blown by Dante Marioni and not as stated in the online catalogue

Lot No: 124

Venini

'Cannette' a black glass Vase, circa 1960
with orange streaks, of compressed globular form
25cm diam, etched 'Venini, Italia'

Estimate: £500 - 700, €560 - 780
Please see Marc Heireman 'Murano Glass Themes and Variations (1910-70)', Arnoldsche Art Publishers, pg. 112.

Lot No: 101

Charles Parriott (American, born 1952)

'Apathy, Prosperity, Privacy' a blown white glass bowl with burgundy lip decoration , circa 1983
with lettering and powdered colour, trailed glass rod and photographic transfer imagery
30cm diam, 11cm high, with paper label CP004

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, €1,100 - 1,700
Please see Carole E. Phillips 'American Glass Northwest', 1982.

Lot No: 89^*

Nick Mount (Australian, born 1952)

'Female Nude' a figural Sculpture, 1992
the glass blown through wire frame work, on metal stand
32cm high, signed and dated to stand

Estimate: £4,000 - 5,000, €4,400 - 5,600

Lot No: 81

William Morris (American, born 1957)

'Stonehenge' a blown glass sculptural Vase, 1984
in shades of red, green, blue, yellow and grey
40.3 x 32.4cm, signed and dated

From boyhood Morris sought inspiration from the woods and hills surrounding his home in California, where he explored caves and dug the earth in search of ancient artifacts. He has a serious interest in ancient civilisations, their primitive tools, their brutal rituals. He is a hunter who shoots deer and welk with a bow and arrow, preferring to hunt alone. Among things that have inspired him are cave drawings and as shown in this piece Stonehenge. The imagery in his works reflects these many interests and influences.
Please see Suzanne K.Frantz 'Contemporary Glass, A World Survey from the Corning Museum of Glass', Harry N. Abrams Inc. New York, 1989 p.97, similar example illustrated and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 152-153.
Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000, €11,000 - 17,000

Lot No: 73

Marvin Lipofsky (American, born 1938)

'Sketch' a glass abstract form, 1981
blown into a wooden mould created by the artist, manipulated whilst hot 'splashed' with colour, cut, ground, polished
26cm wide, 20cm high, signed in diamond point 'Lipofsky, 1981 sketch'

Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, €1,700 - 2,200
For a comparable example see Lipofsky, A Glass Odyssey, Oakland Museum, California, 2003, p.92 and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 122-123

Lot No: 55

Pavel Hlava (Czech, 1924-2002)

'Vase-Object' a mould blown glass Vessel, circa 1975
'punctured' with an indentation
40cm high, signed in diamond point Pavel Hlava Czechoslovakia

Estimate: £1,200 - 1,500, €1,300 - 1,700
For a similar example of this technique see Pavla Hlava, Sylva Petrova, 1994, p.32

Lot No: 56

Pavel Hlava (Czech, 1924-2002)

'Vase-Object' a mould blown glass Vessel, circa 1975
'punctured' with an indentation
17cm x 26cm, signed in diamond point 'Pavel Hlava, Czechoslovakia'

Estimate: £1,200 - 1,500, €1,300 - 1,700
For a similar example of this technique see Pavel Hlava, Sylva Petrova, 1994, p.32.

Lot No: 39^AR

Erwin Eisch (German, born 1927)

An opalescent white glass Buddha head, circa 1985
mould-blown, the glass with figurative decoration in gold-leaf
59.5cm high, unsigned

Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, €2,800 - 3,900
Please see D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 68-71 and Suzanne K.Frantz 'Contemporary Glass, A World Survey from the Corning Museum of Glass', Harry N. Abrams Inc. New York, 1989 p.56 for similar examples.

Lot No: 43

Kyohei Fujita (Japanese, 1921-2004)

A mould-blown glass square Box and Cover, circa 1985
blue glass with silver and gold leaf applications, in original wooden box and cover with ties
7cm square, the box stamped with the artist's monogram (4)

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, €1,100 - 1,700
For similar examples see F. Lyngaard 'Kyohei Fujita, The Man and his Work', Borgen, 2000 and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 76-79

Lot No: 33^AR

Steffen Dam (Danish, born 1961)

A blue glass Bowl, 2001
blown glass
21cm diam, 11.7cm high, signed and dated

Estimate: £400 - 500, €450 - 560
Please see Dam Karlslund Glas, Glasmuseets forlag, 1997

Lot No: 16^*

Jane Bruce (British/American born 1947)

'Sentinel' a large yellow, red-saffron and blue Vessel form, 2004
blown glass, wheel-cut
83cm high, 14cm diam, signed and dated

Estimate: £2,000 - 2,500, €2,200 - 2,800
Please see exhibition catalogue '21st Century British Glass', 11-21 January 2005, Daniel Katz Limited in association with Dan Klein Associates, pg. 19.

Lot No: 22

Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941)

'Soft Cylinder' with green lip, circa 1992
blown glass
35 x 25 x 18cm, signed

Estimate: £7,000 - 9,000, €7,800 - 10,000
Please see 'Chihuly', Harry N.Abrams Inc, New York, 1997 and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 36-41

Lot No: 23

Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941)

'Sea-Form' blown glass with white mottling and red lip wrap
47cm wide, signed in diamond point 'Chihuly 1986'

Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, €1,700 - 2,200
Please see Chihuly, Harry N.Abrams Inc, New York, 1997 and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 36-41

Lot No: 24

Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941)

'Sea-Form' a white three piece form, 1985
each segment in thin blown clear glass inlaid with fine white lines and marks, two with white lip wraps
largest segment: 25 x 20cm, signed and dated

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, €1,100 - 1,700
Please see Contemporary Glass, A World Survey from the Corning Museum of Glass, by Suzanne K.Frantz, Harry N. Abrams Inc. New York, 1989 for similar examples and D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 36-41

Lot No: 9^*

Giles Bettison (Australian, born 1966)

A Murrine amber glass Vessel, 1996
25.5cm high, 15cm diam, signed and dated

Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, €1,100 - 1,700
In Bettison's work he has more or less reinvented the ancient Venetian tradition of incorporating murrine into glass vessels along with the Bullseye Glass Company in Portland, Oregon, USA. The semi-transparency of the glass looks like the vessels have been lit from within and give a three dimensional feel to his patterns. His inspiration comes from the landscape and colours of the South Australian landscape.
Please see D. Klein 'Artists in Glass Late Twentieth Century Masters in Glass' publ. Mitchell Beazley, pg's. 28-29P and Margot Osborne 'Australian Glass Today' Wakerfield Press, 2005 – p96 and Helen Schamroth '100 New Zealand Craft Artists', Godwit, Random House, New Zealand, pg. 72, 73.

To be sold for the benefit of North Lands Creative Glass, Caithness

Bonhams. Sale 17045. website accessed May 8, 2009. http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=catalogue&iSaleNo=17045

From Dan Klein Associates website: "Bonhams in association with Dan Klein Associates is excited to announce its first sale of contemporary glass scheduled to take place on May 19th 2009. The sale will be composed of glass from 1950 to the present day (with a distinct preference for historic pieces dating from before 2000) and the catalogue will be distributed to Bonhams clients worldwide. The sale, timed to coincide with Collect 2009, will be previewed at Bonhams, New Bond Street from Friday May 15 to Monday 18 May 2009."0
Accessed May 9, 2009. http://www.dankleinglass.com/auctions/auctions.html

2005

In this time line I pull quotes to illustrate a thread in popular and scholarly writing and criticism about glass. Here we will see current glass artists defending their art against the accusations and separating themselves from these stereotypes and, hopefully, find out how and where the now-common opinion was born. Fundamentally, the general thesis seems to be born of the question, What Is Art? This question I will leave to others to answer, here I am only documenting the written history of a popular way of thinking and a popular taste.

2005 Andrew Engleson:

"

After nearly two years with the lights out and the doors closed, Bellevue Arts Museum has reopened. Under the direction of nationally recognized craft authority Michael Monroe, the once-struggling institution aims to become the Northwest's center for craft, art, and design. To that end, the galleries have been relit, partitions built to section off interior spaces, and carpet added to soften the industrial feel of Stephen Holl's architectural design.

BAM's reinvention is a smart move, if not an altogether artistically satisfying one. The Northwest lacks a museum in the same cloth as the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery (where Monroe spent much of his previous career), New York's Museum of Art and Design, or the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in North Carolina. The Puget Sound region produces so much of what is loosely defined as "craft"—the University of Washington's ceramics program and the Pilchuck Glass School are just two examples—that BAM's new incarnation seems a good fit. It also reaches back to the roots of the Eastside museum, which grew out of the annual Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair, now in its 59th year.

BAM has clearly found a mission, something it formerly lacked. "I'm not interested in making this a miniature Seattle Art Museum or Henry Art Gallery," Monroe said at the press opening. He also hinted the museum would like to start building a collection—something BAM has never had. This would be great news for local artists and ensure the support of local collectors.

Currently, three exhibits describe Monroe's vision: "The Artful Teapot," 250 clever teapots from the Gloria and Sonny Kamm collection (through Oct. 2); "The Artist Responds," a survey of ironwork by New York state's Albert Paley (through Sept. 25); and "Taking Shape," Pilchuck glass from the 1970s (through Jan. 29, 2006).

The teapot collection is impressive in its scope—everything from Michael Graves designs to whimsical pots woven from $5 bills. And Paley's work is very skilled—his tangled, organic designs take cues from art nouveau, but are contemporary and original. The Pilchuck exhibit assigns historical context to the wildly popular glass phenomenon.

But I just can't shake the feeling that BAM is offering Art Lite —"fun" art, safe art, art that doesn't make demands on viewers or elicit controversy.

Take Dale Chihuly (who has a new work in BAM's lobby) as an example. The man does beautiful work—his glass is intricate, energetic, and skilled. But the power of art is in its ability not only to please us but to challenge us, disturb us, or make us think twice. As Susan Sontag famously put it, good art makes us nervous. Rest assured—your nerves will be safe during a visit to BAM.

"Groundbreaking art doesn't have to be controversial," Monroe told me, and I think that sums up BAM's approach nicely. I suspect having worked at a Smithsonian gallery just steps from the White House has given Monroe expertise in showing high-quality art that offends no one.

This is not to say that craft can't meet the requirements of rich, satisfying art. Dan Webb does revolutionary things with wood, and local ceramic artists Patti Warashina, Saya Moriyasu, Jeffry Mitchell, and Charles Krafft are doing extremely creative, provocative stuff.

But I suspect Charles is one Krafft that won't be showing at BAM anytime soon. The artist's latest provocation is called "Disasterware," and in addition to the Delft-inspired hand grenades, pistols, and antitank missiles, it includes a teapot. It depicts the head of Adolf Hitler, below which is the inscription "Idaho: Famous Potatoes." I don't know about you, but that makes me nervous. Maybe this is a teapot you'll see at BAM in the near future. But I doubt it."

Engleson, A. "Teapot Home." June 22, 2005. Seattle Weekly. website accessed July 1, 2009. http://www.seattleweekly.com/2005-06-22/arts/teapot-home

2005 Seattle Weekly:

"Solomon Fine Art Jeffrey Sarmiento's "In a Matter of Speaking" offers glass art that's a refreshing antidote to the decorative banalities of Seattle's glut of glass. In his first solo show, the work ranges from small to over 5 feet high, and incorporates a dense network of halftone screens and text. It's a cultural mélange, including text in Danish, which Sarmiento attempted to master during a recent Fulbright residency in Denmark, and images and text alluding to the artist's Filipino-American heritage. 215 First Ave., 206-297-1400. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat."

Unknown. Seattle Weekly. July 13, 19, 2005. website accessed July 1, 2009. http://www.seattleweekly.com/2005-07-13/music/july-13-19-2005/2

2005 Kevin Murray:

"...Most of my reference to McElheny comes from the substantial catalogue to a retrospective at Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostella.[3] The exhibition contains a formidable range of work. It expresses not only technical excellence but also conceptual sophistication..

In the interview that has been published in the catalogue, McElheny does not disavow the craft basis of his work: 'The subject matter of my work assumes that the anonymous, artisanal, industrial activity of specific glass-factory cultures could be viewed as a complex, creative and meaning-generating activity.'[4] This seems an honest avowal of skill by contrast with the celebration of 'cleverness' by conceptual artists like Jeff Koons....

In the case of Maureen Williams, painterliness draws our attention to the differences between her work and painting. Rather than render the world on a flat linear plane, she adopts a cylindrical format. Williams claims that her choice is medium is more from a deficit on her part. She says:

I find it hard to paint two-dimensionally because I don't know what to do with the edges. I'm used to going around. When I hit the edge, I don't know how to deal with it.

While this might explain the choice to work on a circular medium, the choice of glass rather than ceramics or metal still remains a mystery....
All this leads me to the proposition that it is a glass artist like Maureen Williams who is the best bet for the continuity of painting as a contemporary romantic quest, rather than a nostalgic concern.

First, it meets the expectation of our eyes to ascribe value to radiant rather than reflective light. Second, it recovers the artistic meaning of that space by taking it into the round. The proliferation of screens in our own lives means that they are increasingly portals of distraction rather than windows of reflection.

Williams' journey as an artist harkens back to the romantic quests of painters to capture the essence of their world. By taking this journey into the radiant three-dimensional world of glass, she grants this quest a relevance that is otherwise missing. Glass is the future of painting.

Murray, Kevin. "Painterliness in contemporary glass art." Delivered as the Strattman lecture, Adelaide GAS Conference, 9 May 2005. (Murray's footnote 4: Josiah McElheny Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea; 18 April - 17 June 2002.) http://www.craftculture.org/archive/kmurray5.htm
Accessed March 27, 2009.

2005 Dr. Barton Weitz:

"The gallery owners feel the most-promising growth areas for crafts are designer jewelry, glass and ceramics. The least-promising merchandise categories are furniture, judaica, and kaleidoscopes. In terms of merchandise stocked, the most popular categories are glass, ceramics, designer and fine jewelry, and metal and wood art.

While designer jewelry, fine jewelry and glass are viewed as a growth area for all segments, there are a number of differences across the segments. For example, large retailers see more growth in metal art than smaller craft gallery owners, while small craft galleries see more growth in scopes and wood.

There are also some significant regional differences. Gallery owners in the Mid-Atlantic are less positive about the growth prospects for glass while the rest of the country believes it to be a
significant medium. Sales growth in furniture is strongest in the West and weakest in the Northeast and Southeast. The growth potential for wood is greatest in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Detailed information on the forecasts for different products by segments is shown in Table 1 (see page 20)."

"CRAFT RETAILER SURVEY" by Dr. Barton Weitz, Executive Director, David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Retailing. 2005. This report was prepared with the assistance of Robert Carr, MBA student, and Jun Xu, Ph.D. student in the Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida. http://www.americancraft.com/BMAC/buyer/PDFs/PF06/CraftRetailerSurvey.pdf. Accessed April 16, 2009.

2005 Margot Osborne:

"I regard it as an unfortuante tendancy to elevate sculptural and conceptual approaches to the medium as being inherently more serious or of greater contemporary relevance, while denigrating the value of practices grounded in knowlege of materials and processes. There are differing aesthetic values in each approach...

It is possible to elucidate a poetics of glass, grounded in such abstract formal qualities as pattern, repetitive mark-making, the emotive charge of intense and saturated colour, tonal nuance created by layering, texture, rhythmic and organic linear movement, scale, and fine detail. The medium of glass as conceived by contemporary artists becomes a finely nuanced material language, which can be purely abstract, but which may also embody poetic resonances between mind and matter, between the materiality of glass and the immateriality of consciousness. While glass as an abstract medium lacks the full expressive, gestural scope of painting, it more than compensates through other qualities less available to painting-the transformative power of light, the range and sculptural plasticity of three-dimensional forms, the immersive allure of depth and internal form.

...like the scent of a complex perfume, it is a synthesis of the primal and the sophisticated..."

Osborne, Margot. "Towards a poetics of glass" Chapter 2. Australian Glass Today. 2005. Wakefield Press. Kent Town, South Australia.

2005 ArtKnowledgeNews.com:

"CORNING, N.Y.- The Rockwell Museum of Western Art will present, as one of four special exhibitions this year, Fusing Traditions: Transformations in Glass by Native American Artists. Complementing the Rockwell Museum's broad permanent collection of Native American art, this exhibition introduces the first generation of Native American studio glass artists. These eighteen artists fuse cultural heritage and individual creativity into dazzling new glass forms. This traveling exhibition features thirty-seven artworks and was organized by the Museum of Craft & Folk Art (MOCFA) in San Francisco, California. Meet the Artists: Fusing Traditions recognizes an important artistic movement that began in the 1970s when Tony Jojola (Isleta Pueblo) first experimented in glass at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Most recently, Preston Singletary (Tlingit) realized his dream when a cedar totem pole with glass and neon components was raised at the Pilchuck Glass School in celebration of the school's thirtieth anniversary. Influenced by their experience at the glass school, master carvers Joe David (Nuu-cha-nulth), John Hagen (Alaskan Native), and Wayne Price (Tlingit), began to experiment with glass in their subsequent art. This artistic exchange demonstrates the strength of the ties between the Pilchuck Glass School and the vigor of the Native American artists who have studied there. The movement continues, as both Jojola and Singletary teach Native students in Seattle and Taos. Two of Singletary's students are represented in the exhibition. The artwork of Robert Tannahill (Mohawk/Metis) and Brian Barber (Pawnee) have broken with the functional and decorative origins of glass to create enigmatic and authoritative forms based in their cultural traditions. Both artists are working in a cultural realm where the visible is not always legible to the uninitiated, yet even the culturally initiated will find these figures in glass startlingly new. In Fusing Traditions, cultural art forms - beadwork, pottery, masks, spindle whorls, dance wands, and hats - are reinvigorated and re-imagined. Preston Singletary and Susan Point (Coast Salish) use the strong Northwest Coast imagery of their cultures to create revolutionary new glass forms in sand blasted and carved glass. Tony Jojola transforms pottery shapes into light-filled blown glass vessels. Drawing from American popular culture, Marcus Amerman's (Choctaw) glass-bead art relocates Native American art in the twenty-first century. The exhibition also includes the artwork of Larry Ahvakana (Inupiaq), Michael Carius (Siberian Y’upic), Conrad House (Navajo), Clarissa Hudson (Tlingit), Ramson Lomatewama (Hopi), Ed Archie NoiseCat (Salish), Marvin Oliver (Quinalt), Shaun Peterson (Salish), and C. S. Tarpley (Choctaw). The neon artwork of David Svenson, a non-Native American, is featured in this exhibition at the request of his students who honor him. He has been an influential teacher at the Pilchuck Glass School for many of the Native artists." ArtKnowledgeNews.com. Author/Editor Unknown. May 10, 2005. "Fusing Traditions: Transformations in Glass." website accessed May 10, 2005. http://artknowledgenews.com/node/422

2005 Paula Weideger:

"Chartreuse and turquoise tendrils, like the multicoloured mane of a colossal, punk Rapunzel, twist down from high above the information desk at London's Victoria & Albert museum. Eight metres long and weighing 1,724kg, this baroque blown glass and steel extravaganza is by Dale Chihuly, the most famous artist working with blown glass today.

The chandelier (lit from outside not within) is on long-term loan from Chihuly who had an exhibition at the V&A in 1999. On first sight it is a shock. This is not only because the flamboyant piece is such a contrast to the placid, not to say staid, decor of the domed entrance hall; Chihuly's work can take some getting used to.

"Every time he starts a new series, everybody hates it," says Doug Anderson, who with his wife Dale has been collecting Chihuly and other glass artists since the late 1970s.

Dale Anderson says: "During the 1970s people were being so creative. I would walk into a gallery and see the work of four or five terrific glass artists and I'd buy from all of them." She hasn't stopped buying since. "I have absolutely no self control," she laughs.

Doug Anderson's most recent project has been overseeing publication of the University of Pennsylvania's Sculpture, Glass and American Museums, a sumptuously illustrated survey of the contemporary glass holdings in 26 US galleries. International in scope, it includes such top artists as William Morris, Colin Reid, Mary Ann "Toots" Zynsky, Lino Tagliapietra, Dante Marioni and the late Stanislav Libensk,ý who collaborated with his wife Jaroslava Brychtovà. It is a fine introduction to the field.

The Andersons have not limited their collecting to Chihuly (or to glass) but it is obvious they have a soft spot for his work. They have been friends with him for more than 20 years and are trustees of Pilchuck in Seattle, his glass-blowing school.

"Chihuly's absolutely a genius, a visionary," Dale Anderson enthuses. "He is the engine that drove the art glass movement." Her husband, whose passion may be as great, spotlights a different aspect of the artist's character. "He is a brilliant marketer. Whatever he had done, he would have succeeded."

A brief look at Chihuly's current European activities suggests the Andersons are not exaggerating wildly.

The Marlborough Gallery, his dealer, is about to open a selling exhibition in Monaco having just closed one in London. A major Chihuly piece is on view in Lucerne. At the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, a vast indoor/outdoor installation includes 25 pieces in the Temperate Zone House alone.

Chihuly Studio, from which his multiple editions, unique pieces and large-scale installations emerge, employs 90 people from glass blowers to archivists.

To say they are highly professional is an understatement. A call to his publicist requesting an interview with the artist was swiftly followed by the arrival of lavishly illustrated books about Chihuly, a handsomely boxed set of DVDs and a date for a telephone chat.

"Are you a captain of industry?" I ask Chihuly when I catch up with him in Las Vegas.

He laughs. "I am lucky to have a lot of good people that work with me," he acknowledges. "They are very careful not to have to make me deal with a lot of stuff I don't enjoy."

From Chicago to Jerusalem, Chihuly's large, imaginative outdoor installations have been a hit. Kew reports visitor numbers are up by a third since Gardens of Glass opened in May.

"I am still very interested in glass houses and spectacular gardens," he tells me when I ask about future projects, although he is not ready to give details of where the next ones will be.

Many artists, among them Robert Rauschenberg and Marc Quinn, have used glass without being able to work it themselves. But Chihuly, whose work is glass, stopped blowing it himself.

After losing the use of his left eye in a car crash in 1976 and then dislocating a shoulder while surfing, he found pieces blown by his team from his designs went very well. "I was so impressed by what Billy Morris produced that from that point on I never blew glass very much."

Today Billy is famous glass artist William Morris, whose prices rival Chihuly's. And highly prized pieces of contemporary glass can fetch six-figure sums.

Next month, Philadelphia's National Liberty museum is de-accessioning a piece by Libensk/Brychtovà, with a starting bid of $600,000. But what will it actually realise?

It is here, in the lush tall grass of what is called the secondary market, that a loud hissing sound can be heard.

Arlene Silvers, president of the Coalition of Collectors and Artists at the Liberty museum, ignores it. "Anybody who has a Libensk right this second could triple what they paid," she insists. The museum has high expectations for its forthcoming benefit auction of 300 pieces of contemporary glass art.

But James Zemaitis, head of the 20th century design department at Sotheby's in New York, is listening to the hissing. "I include glass in my sales only if a gun is pointed at my head," he says.

"Everything we sell in contemporary design is keeping pace with the contemporary art market. Glass is going the other way," he asserts. "If you bought a chair by Ron Arad in 1992, I could probably quadruple its price. If you bought a piece of glass for $25,000 that same year, you would probably get $4,000-$5,000 now."

"James is so naughty," retorts Dan Klein. "He really knows nothing about the market."

This is strong stuffcoming from the man who taught Zemaitis and whom Zemaitis calls "the reigning contemporary glass auction specialist over the last 30 years".

Now retired, Klein, acollector and author, hasnot stopped loving contemporary glass. "The one quality glass has that no other material has is an inner light. Those who know how to work with that light are creating a new language in sculpture."

He concedes contemporary glass is "a fledgling market with no place in an auction house" but predicts "it will become huge". He points out that pieces by early glass artists Gallé, Tiffany and Lalique were "completely despised in the 1940s and 1950s. Now they can cost millions".

So what is a potential collector to do? Doug Anderson answers without hesitation. "Go with your gut. If you like what you're looking at, buy it."

Paula Weideger is author of "Venetian Dreaming: Finding a foothold in an enchanted city" (Simon & Schuster)."

Weideger, P. "Journey to the heart of glass." Financial Times. August 13, 2005. website accessed June 8, 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e65b6fa4-0b95-11da-9939-00000e2511c8.html?nclick_check=1

2005 Kazuo Kadonaga:

"

The exhibition was funded in part by the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.

The exhibition featured sculptures fashioned from glass, wood, paper and bamboo.

When Kazuo Kadonaga started to make art seriously in 1971, he first chose to work with wood. He had been familiar with this material since childhood because his family ran a lumber mill. Kadonaga devoted his efforts to creating a system that would reveal the material composition of wood. He did not choose special varieties of wood but worked with kinds used in everyday life. He began by slicing squared-off logs with a veneer slicer, the same machine used to make thin sheets of wood for plywood production. He then stacked these thin slices to recreate the original form of the squared-off log. After natural drying, the wood began to warp, revealing its invisible material properties as outward changes in form.

In his paper works, Kadonaga makes a stack of many pieces of handmade paper and puts it under a press while it is still drying. He then separates the sheets on one side. The contrast between the thin sheets on one side — what is ordinarily thought of as the natural form of paper — and the block of paper that remains compressed on the other side is an effective demonstration of the physical qualities of paper. The parts of the sheets that have been peeled apart swell naturally because of the resilience of the fibers. These paper works also show the composition of the material in a clearly visible way.

Also on view were three large glass sculptures. After the raw materials of ordinary plate glass are melted in a furnace, a fixed amount of melted glass flows continuously from a narrow spout into an annealing oven below it over a period of 48 hours. The sculptural form is created by gravity and the viscosity of the melted glass. In the annealing oven, the temperature is gradually reduced to prevent cracks in the mass of glass. It is necessary to wait 100 days before the work can be removed from the oven. This demanding process requires large-scale facilities. It is entirely controlled by computer, and human workers only take part by putting the raw materials into the furnace and checking the temperature.

The finished mass of glass immediately reveals the material properties of glass to the viewer. In these works, Kadonaga reveals the physical nature of glass as such, including its internal characteristics. They are markedly different from previous abstract glass sculpture.

The exhibition included a group of fifty 15-foot lengths of honey-colored bamboo, propped against a wall. Their color, produced by kiln drying, is another example of Kazuo Kadonaga's interest in the natural transformation of materials with which he works.

A ten-minute, videotape “Kazuo Kadonaga, Glass Piece no. 4,” showing the making of his distinctive sculpture, played during the run of the exhibition.

Throughout my career as an artist I have been more interested in exploring the inherent qualities of materials found in everyday life and developing systems that transform these materials naturally, rather than self-consciously creating beautiful 'art' objects.
– Kazuo Kadonaga

Unknown. Mingei International Museum, San Diego. "ELEMENTAL MATERIALS IN CONTEMPORARY ART | May 21, 2005 | Oct 02, 2005". Website Accessed June 17, 2009. http://www.mingei.org/exhibitions/detail.php?EID=135

2005 National Endowment for the Arts:

"Pilchuck Glass School

Seattle, WA
$35,000
To support a summer artist residency program. Artists will be provided with resources, facilities, and technical assistance to experiment with new work in glass.

Pittsburgh Glass Center Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA
$25,000
To support a summer residency program to bring glass artists and students from across the country to Pittsburgh for exploration in glass making. Artists will be provided with resources, facilities, and technical assistance.

Glass Art Society, Inc.
Seattle, WA
$15,000
To support production of the Glass Art Society Journal, documenting events, exhibitions, and proceedings of the organization's annual conference to be held in Adelaide, Australia. The journal is edited by Suzanne Frantz, a Fulbright Scholar and former curator of 20th century glass at the Corning Museum."

National Endowment for the Arts FY 2005 Visual Arts Grants. website accessed June 19, 2009. http://www.nea.gov/grants/recent/disciplines/Visualarts/05visual.html