An overview of glass art from near and far

Like it or not, American studio glass is here to stay. Possibly the most important art movement to arise and flourish in the Pacific Northwest after Mark Tobey and the Northwest School, glass art has been centered around the Pilchuck Glass School since it opened near Stanwood in 1971. A number of prominent art collectors have assembled collections of works made by the numerous regional, national and international figures to have worked at Pilchuck. Usually technically complex and brightly colored, Pilchuck glass has assimilated techniques from all over the world, including, most importantly, Italy.

As the new Seattle Asian Art Museum exhibition demonstrates, glass art is much more than virtuoso blowing. "A Transparent Legacy: Studio Glass Gifted to the Seattle Art Museum from the Collection of Jon and Mary Shirley" highlights 60 examples that the Medina couple acquired over the years and have now given to SAM. Most, but not all, of the big names in the movement are there and, in most cases, the Shirleys chose superior examples. To put it mildly, as trustees and longtime supporters of the Pilchuck Glass School, the Shirleys were usually in the right place at the right time.

While SAM has been attentive to the glass scene, "A Transparent Legacy" is a good opportunity for newcomers to not only learn and look, but to become connoisseurs on their own, selecting favorites and developing their own taste just as the Shirleys did when they began collecting more than 30 years ago.

Start with the historic masters — Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, Harvey Littleton (Chihuly's teacher at University of Wisconsin), Marvin Lipofsky, and Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. These are the major figures of late 20th-century glass art, all of whom passed through Pilchuck. With Chihuly, Littleton, Tagliapietra and Lipofsky's emphasis on elastic, fluid blown shapes, it's important to recognize that the sand-casting of the husband-and-wife team Libenský and Brychtová came first.

Associate curator of modern and contemporary art Susan Rosenberg spreads out the riches in three rooms. With their crisp new white walls and restored skylights, the galleries have never looked better. Color is central to glass art, and Rosenberg has generously spaced the vases, vessels and sculptures so that nothing seems crowded or cluttered, as is so often the case with craft exhibits. Given first-rate installation and elegant, even lighting, the pieces quietly glow, all the better to view their intricate and sometimes fussy details.

Because blown glass is hollow, artists tend to make vases or vessels. Chihuly is a good example, but so are his ex-"gaffers" (chief glassblower) Tagliapietra, Richard Royal, Dante Marioni and William Morris. Each is distinct with his own vision and degree of talent.

Sculptures are sometimes assemblages of multiple-element pieces or solid, as with the central European pioneers included besides Libenský and Brychtová: Zoltan Bohus and Michael Pavlik. American solid-glass sculpture began with Littleton, Tom Patti and Sidney Cash, all on view.

Exhibit review


"A Transparent Legacy: Studio Glass Gifted to the Seattle Art Museum from the Collection of Jon and Mary Shirley," 10 a.m-5 p.m., Wednesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays, through Oct. 15, Seattle Asian Art Museum, 14th Ave. E. and E. Prospect St. in Volunteer Park, Seattle; $5 suggested admission, children 12 and under free (206-654-3100 or www.Seattleartmuseum.org).

Lampworkers like Ginny Ruffner, Susan Plum, Kari Russell-Pool, Jill Reynolds and Gianni Toso compose differently, element by element. They are represented by some spectacular examples, including Ruffner's "The Invention of Games You Shouldn't Bet On" (1991) or Toots Zynsky's glass-thread bowl, "Firebird" (1992).

Non-Northwest glass is ably represented and may be of the most interest to glass fans. Michael Glancy combines glass with electro-formed copper while Klaus Moje fuses colored strips in a kiln to make large plates. Etsuko Nishi and Seth Randal's "cage work" bowls revive an ancient Egyptian and Roman process to a contemporary end. They round out a dazzling display.