He has been called the world’s greatest glass blower, but few outside the world of design recognize his name. Italian artisan and teacher Lino Tagliapietra is finally receiving deserved recognition in a traveling retrospective organized by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash.
The object-oriented exhibit seems a bit too precious for this hands-on talent in downplaying his process, but its stop at the Renwick is worth a visit if only to admire the malleable possibilities of glass. On display are 140 designs, including some from the artist’s own collection, that reflect a mastery of the medium.
Intricately patterned vessels, serpentlike sculptures and multipiece installations — Mr. Tagliapietra excels at making them all. One of his vases resembles a multicolored Missoni sweater pulled over the glass; another looks like banded Swiss cheese. The dizzying variety of his work makes the famous Seattle glass artist Dale Chihuly, one of many artisans who have collaborated with Mr. Tagliapietra, seem like a one-note Johnny.
Evident in every piece is a rich combination of techniques refined over a long career. The 74-year-old artisan comes from Murano, the island town in the Venice lagoon where glass has been made since the 13th century. He first worked in a glass company at age 11, quickly rising up the ranks. At 22, he earned the title of “maestro,” an official designation of the highest expertise within a factory.
Before viewing the objects, visitors unaware of the challenges of glass-making should watch the documentary playing in the museum shop to see Mr. Tagliapietra in action (a copy of the DVD comes with the $50 exhibit catalog). The film shows the glass blower and his assistants puffing air into molten chunks and pulling, folding and snipping their spherical shapes. Watching these scenes, you can almost feel the heat of the glass as it emerges from the “glory hole” and is worked through pipe, pincers and rod.
It’s a shame the documentary isn’t shown next to the objects in the exhibit, because Mr. Tagliapietra’s methods aren’t fully explained in the wall texts and the skill required of bending, coiling and cutting the glass is best understood through a live demonstration.
Another frustration is that the retrospective only loosely follows a chronology. The earliest pieces pop up midway through the show rather than in the gallery near the front entrance. They include modernistic goblets and chalices made in 1960 and a curlicue lamp from 1970, pieces that look simplistic compared with the multicolored, layered and carved pieces displayed in the main galleries.
In 1979, Mr. Tagliapietra traveled to the United States for the first time to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School outside Seattle. Though he spoke no English back then, the glass blower managed to impart his methods to the students and teachers who, in time, worked with him to develop new techniques. One of these, called the Pilchuck ’96, made it easier to shift the directions of stripes on blown glass, as reflected in the graphic, vertical lines of “Nubia” in the show.
Collaboration is a hallmark of Mr. Tagliapietra’s career and the exhibit includes several pieces he made with other artisans in the 1980s. A footed vessel undertaken with the late Dutch glass artist Andries Dirk Copier reflects the “incalmo” technique of joining two sections of glass. A pair of pieces blown for American Dan Dailey are covered in abstract enamel paintings. A spiraling pattern of red and black, developed with psychiatrist Marina Angelin, decorates the “Psycho” vessel through the turning of the glass.
In 1998, Mr. Tagliapietra worked with Steuben, the American glass maker, whose company officials were surprised the Italian wanted to blow his own designs. The clear pieces from this experience are the least interesting in the show.
For the generous sharing of his expertise, Mr. Tagliapietra has been ostracized by some Murano glass makers who see themselves as guardians of centuries-old trade secrets. However, as explained in the exhibit, the dissemination and exchange of knowledge has helped stimulate interest in glass blowing and elevate the craft into a respected art.
As the show progresses, the glass creations become more fluid and exaggerated in their shapes. They reveal artistic invention as well as skillful handicraft. Among his more engaging designs are the elongated, swooping necks of the slim “Dinosaur” series, the three-pronged, bowed shapes of the “Batman” pieces and the flaring bodies of the “Hopi” vases, which were inspired by American Indian ceramics.
In contrast to these sleek vessels, the artist’s dozens of goblets, displayed in the last gallery, are exuberantly decorated with frilly and figurative flourishes. These small cups reflect his ability to blow traditional glass designs as ornate as a Venetian antique.
Over his career, Mr. Tagliapietra has also revived mid-20th-century filigree techniques pioneered by Murano glassmakers such as Archimede Seguso and Paolo Venini. Several pieces in the show draw upon them to create freeform effects resembling splattered and brushed-on paint.
The show-stopper of the exhibit is “Endeavor,” a cluster of hanging, boat-shaped vessels at the center of the rear gallery. The colorful, 35-piece installation recalls a fleet of gondolas, each uniquely designed, from the artist’s native Venice. It conveys a sense of monumentality that is typically impossible to convey through the fragile and translucent material, unless worked by a maestro like Mr. Tagliapietra.
WHAT: “Lino Tagliapietra in Retrospect: A Modern Renaissance in Glass”
WHERE: Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street Northwest
WHEN: Through Jan. 11; 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Christmas Day
ADMISSION: Free
PHONE: 202/633-7970
WEB SITE: www.americanart.si.edu
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