|
|
Celebrate Glass in Pittsburgh
2007 is the year Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass! Some of the finest master glass makers, past and present, have their creativity on display in an unparalleled array of exhibits to enjoy the brilliance of glass. Chihuly at Phipps:
|
|
|
Among the finest, if not the best contemporary glass designer in the USA, Dale Chihuly is a natural inclusion in a celebration of glass. The artist and his team have organized a breathtaking display at the mesmerizing Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. |
Title: Dale Chihuly at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Image Courtesy: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
The brilliance of cut and designed glass shimmers in juxtaposition among some of the most beautiful flora settings. The Phipps is a required pilgrimage to enjoy the celebration of glass.
Title: Dale Chihuly's Cobalt Fiori in the East Room at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Image Courtesy: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Each setting is designed to tantalize the aesthetic taste buds at the Phipps, offering a marriage between a natural setting and glass-based art.
Title: Phipps Pond
Photographer: GPCVB
Image Courtesy: Visit Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museum of Art
Viva Vetro! Glass Alive! Venice and America
through September 18, 2007
Title:Murrine Plate, c. 1940
Artist: Venini S.p.a. (Italian, 1921-present>
Carlo Scarpa, designer (Italian, 1906-1978)
Medium: Glass, Hand-Blown Murine, Battuto Surface
Carnegie Museum of Art, Women's Committee Acquisition Fund
Image Courtesy: The Carnegie Museum of Art
Glass art truly began in Venice. Many glass artists, including American masters, traveled to the beautiful Italian port city to learn the ancient techniques and then applied their own unique sense of style to glass design. The Carnegie's contribution to Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass is Viva Vetro! an exploration of the links between Venetian and American artists over the past 1/2 century. The exhibit was featured in the May 2007 edition of International Art Treasures here.
The American City of Lights
Pittsburgh Festival of Lights
through July 8, 2007
Title: The Omni William Penn illuminated part of Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass
Artist: Lucette deRugy
Image Courtesy: Visit Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh challenged Paris as the City of Lights during the month of June with various Downtown Pittsburgh buildings transformed into giant canvasses with glass inspired imagery. This is the first Pittsburgh Festival of Lights, and it is the largest festival of its kind in the United States. It proved so popular the festival has been extended to July 8, 2007.
|
Four of the illuminated buildings were the brainchild of the French artist Lucette deRugy. Rob Long, a Pittsburgh local artist, created the other two pieces. Lucette de Rugy's inspiration came from “glass art coupled with the incredibly rich architecture of downtown Pittsburgh, which reflects so much its history and heritage as well as its future.” |
|
“Pittsburgh Festival of Lights truly puts this region on the international map,” said Sy Holzer, president of PNC Bank Pittsburgh region and chairman of the Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass! Leadership Committee. “Fittingly, the Festival of Lights is part of Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass! – a cultural collaboration that features glass art from around the world and is contributing millions to the local economy.”
Pittsburgh Glass Center
|
|
Historically Pittsburgh was the center for the production and marketing of the American glass industry. Glass was the first industry of Pittsburgh. Thanks to the state of the art facilities and teaching programs at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, once again the city is home to the creation of glass both as functional items and decorative arts. |
The Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) is both a gallery and workshop for the celebration of this unique art form. Many famous glass artists come to teach and also to learn at the PGC.
Title: The Scavuzzo Team working at the Pittsburgh Glass Center
Image Courtesy: Pittsburgh Glass Center
Allure of Japanese Glass
Pittsburgh Glass Center
through September 16, 2008
Title: The Wind through the Rice Plant, 2007
Artist: Shiho Hayazaki
Medium: Blown glass.
Dimensions: Size of each: 300 mm H x 250 mm W x 250 mm
Image Courtesy: Pittsburgh Glass Center
The PGC currently hosts its first international exhibition of contemporary glass art via Allure of Japanese Glass. As Janet McCall, PGC Program Manager explains, "There have been very few shows of contemporary Japanese glass in the U.S., and virtually none that focused on emerging, rather than established artists. Most of the artists in this exhibition have never exhibited in this country, which makes our show particularly exciting. There is a dynamic contemporary glass making community in Japan with little or no exposure in the U.S. It's our intention to showcase these artists, introduce some new young faces and make the public aware of the creative energy that exists in glass in Japan."
Senator John Heniz History Center
Glass: Shattering Notions
Permanent Exhibition
Why celebrate glass in Pittsburgh? The answer is that the oldest industry in Pittsburgh is glass, not steel as most may believe. The city's natural resources and location on an inland river system provided the natural resources necessary for the production of glass. It was in 1797 that two factories began glass production in the region. By 1880 the city lacked any rivals in the production of glass with 25% of all the factories in the USA, producing 30 percent of all the glass in the country, were found in Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh.
Title: Sculpted Art Glass, ca. 1933
Artist: Reuben Henry; made by Phoenix Glass in the 1930s
Using Birds, Fish and Flowers in Naturalisitc Decorations
Wild Geese pattern
Chisholm Photographic
Image Courtesy: The Heinz History Center
From 1920 about eighty percent of the US's glass was produced in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and the panhandle of West Virginia. The importance of this industry and its impact on the city are the catalyst for an intriguing permanent display Glass: Shattering Notions at the Senator John Heinz History Center. The exhibit spans over two centuries of glass making and design in the region from the creation of the functional product to the space-age technologies that continue to find new properties within this unique material.
Metamorphosis: The Live Cycle of a Glass Bead
through July 14, 2007
|
Glass as jewelry. That's the theme of this temporary exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center. Take one bead and walk through it's incorporation into an exquisite piece of wearable art. Metamorphosis will travel to the Evoke Gallery in St. Paul, MN July 26 – September 8, 2007 after it closes at the Senator John Heinz History Center. |
|
Title: A Week by the Sea
Artist: Lisa Walsh
Medium: Lampworked Hollow Bead Necklace
Image Courtesy: The ISGB & The Heinz History Center
James Gallery
Title: Glassified at the James Gallery, Pittsburgh
Image Courtesy: James Gallery Pittsburgh
The private galleries of Pittsburgh weren't about to let an event like Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass! pass them by. Throughout the year various events and exhibits are planned such as the recently closed Glassified at the James Gallery a Fine Art Gallery located in Pittsburgh's West End.
Glassified featured 40 artists, including Ron Desmett and his wife, Kathleen Mulcahy, who together founded the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
The James Gallery is always a treat with its exceptional presentations of artwork. Often the base or backdrop is built to enhance but not detract from the piece. It's a must-stop for contemporary art lovers to enjoy a calm setting and to simply appreciate art.
These are just a few of the events that form Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass! It is a year-long collaboration of over than 70 cultural, civic and community partners designed to inspire both Pittsburgh residents and tourists to experience the beauty of Pittsburgh's cultural scene
Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass: Exhibition Highlights
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens:
Chihuly at Phipps: Gardens & Glass
through November 11, 2007
Carnegie Museum of Art:
Viva Vetro! Glass Alive! Venice and America
through September 18 2007
Pittsbugh Celebrates Glass:
Pittsburgh Festival of Lights
through July 8, 2007
Pittsburgh Glass Center:
Allure of Japanese Glass
through September 16, 2007
Senator John Heinz History Center:
Metamorphosis: The Live Cycle of a Glass Bead
through July 14, 2007
Glass: Shattering Notions
Permanent Exhibition