Lino Tagliapietra

(http://schantzgalleries.com/artists/tagliapietra/bio.html 1-5-2010)One of the world's most eminent living glass artists, Lino Tagliapietra was born in1934 on the island of the centuries-old center for Venetian glassmaking, Murano. At the age of eleven, he was apprenticed to the glass studio of the internationally known Muranese master, Archimede Seguso, and achieved the rank of maestro by age twenty-one. He later worked as master glassblower and designer at other glass studios, including Galliano Ferro, Venini, La Murrina, and Effetre International.In the sixties, Tagliapietra began to develop his design skills by implementing his own concepts as well as those of others. In the seventies, he was deeply influenced by his participation in La Scuola Internazionale del Vetro symposiums held in Murano. These gatherings brought the finest Muranese masters together with artists from various disciplines all over the world. In the eighties, he became increasingly recognized for his collaboration with other artists and for the translation of their concepts into molten glass. Perhaps the most profound impact on his work came from his collaboration with the distinguished Dutch glass designer A.D. Copier. Copier changed his view of glass as a medium for art. In a dedication to Copier, Tagliapietra said, "What did I learn from him? Not any technical skills, but more importantly, the way to see and think about glass objects as works of art."For the past four decades, Tagliapietra has generously shared his unsurpassed experience, understanding, and knowledge of traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques with glass artists and audiences around the world. He has been largely responsible for a new renaissance in glassblowing that has swept through the world of studio glassmaking. It is not exaggerating to say that he has affected the course of glass history by helping to raise the international standards of glass craftsmanship. Tagliapietra has taught in glass programs worldwide including, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine, The Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I. the Toyama Art School, Toyama, Japan, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia and Centre College in Danville Kentucky where he received an honorary doctorate.In the mid-eighties, he made the transition from the traditional Venetian master glassblower and glass designer to that of independent studio artist. He was finally free to devote his attention to focus on his own artistic expression and unique works. The last decade has become an immensely creative period for him. "Through his work, we see the transformation of old elements to new concepts. Lino Tagliapietra is one of the few glassmakers who can successfully transmit his own sensitivity and intellect into an inanimate object. That is what makes us respond so powerfully to his work and what makes him an artist," said Susanne K. Frantz, former curator of 20th-century glass at The Corning Museum of Glass. "His vessels and sculptures, which often incorporate filigree decoration, are on a technical level equal to the finest achievements of historic Venetian glassmaking."For many years, while working within the old tradition where great glass masters execute designs of others, Tagliapietra has also designed and made his own work. In the nineties, he has moved beyond the excellence in execution, and has since exclusively designed and made his own work, with continuous bursts of creative inspiration.Much honored by the world of studio glass, Tagliapietra has received numerous awards including, The Rakow Commission from The Corning Museum of Glass and the Metal for Excellence in Craft Award from The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston. His work is in the permanent collections of numerous major museums including, The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France, Tokyo National Modern Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma Washington, where his recent major retrospective exhibition was launched.