MASTERS OF GLASS
An OnQ Special Edition
OnQ visits the Pittsburgh Glass Center on Penn Avenue in Friendship. Several internationally renowned glass artists are featured in the half-hour special.
Watch the entire special: ON DEMAND!
Inside the Pittsburgh Glass Center
Pittsburgh Glass Center, the first open and comprehensive glass art studio in Southwestern PA, is a 501(c)3 organization, dedicated to teaching, creating and promoting glass art. PGC is located in a 16,000+ square foot facility, housing state-of-the-art studios in hot glass, flameworking, coldworking and (coming soon) casting and kilnworking! A staff of skilled administrators, glass artists, technicians and highly qualified and motivated instructors all work together to create an open environment where the beginner to advanced student can explore and achieve his or her creative vision in glass. PGC's goal is to provide the instruction and resources to expand the skill and knowledge level of glass art students, while growing a new generation of glass artists and enthusiasts in the Pittsburgh region. pittsburghglasscenter.org
Dante
Marioni's graceful blown-glass vessels are internationally recognized
for their vibrant color and classic design. Through the process
of making his vessels, Marioni has joined a centuries-long artistic
conversation about classical design, proportion, and aesthetics
that dates back to the first Renaissance artists who rediscovered
classical antiquity. His distinctive glass vessels are in the collections
of such museums as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Corning
Museum of Glass, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Japanese
National Museum of Craft in Tokyo, the New Zealand National Museum
in Auckland, and the National Museum of Stockholm. 'Dante Marioni:
Blown Glass' is the first monograph of the work of this renowned
artist and is available from Hudson Hills Press in New York. dantemarioni.com
Cesare
Toffolo was born in Murano in 1961, and grew up in a family
of top glass artists. His grandfather Giacomo was a master glass
blower in the Venini Furnace who taught his son Florino (Cesare's
father) the techniques that made him a master by age 17. Cesare
often visited his father's studio, learning glass blowing at 15.
He was 21 when he exhibited at the Palazzo Ca' Vendramin Calergi
in Venice and, since then, has collaborated with the most prestigious
glass establishments in Murano and abroad. Cesare is one of the
top glass artists in Murano, and the conceiver and founder of Centro
Studio Vetro, a non-profit cultural association that promotes glass
art in Italy and abroad. Since 2001 he has been coordinating the
Glass Workshops in Venice, in S. Servolo Island, as artistic director.
toffolo.com
Born
on the island of Murano in 1953, Davide Salvadore hails from
a family of glassworkers, and has always lived and worked in the
Venetian Archipelago. At a very early age, he began following his
grandfather into the furnaces of Murano, and from him he learned
how to build the kilns. Afterwards, he spent four years with the
glassmaster Loredano Rosin. Subsequently, he alternated collaborations
with the venerable Venini, and Barovier and Toso glasshouses, with
work in small craft studios throughout Murano. Since the mid-to-late
1990s, Davide Salvadore has come into his own. He held master classes
on modern glass at the Escuela del Vidrio in La Granja, Spain, and
later at the "Cerfav" School of Glass in Vannes Le Chatel,
France, where he also participated in the European Glass Symposium.
He also serves as a founding member of the Centro Studio Vetro,
the Murano-based, non-profit, cultural organization whose mission
is to cultivate and promote glass art culture in Italy and abroad.
mostly-glass.com
Born and educated in England, Janusz Pozniak relocated to Seattle nearly ten years ago. Over the years he has worked professionally in association with numerous renowned glass artists including Dante Marioni, Benjamin Moore, Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, Sonja Blomdahl, and Dick Marquis. Pozniak has carved out twin niches as a designer of functional ware and a maker of satirical objects. Both combine relaxed and absolute control with emphasis on idiosyncratic forms embodied in bold colors. The functional ware presumably reveals the impact of his training in the British system of art schools (responsible for Lennon and McCartney and Arlen Bayliss), while his art brings together an impulse from the early 20th century with one of art's most timeless themes, combining non-objective portraiture with sometimes scathing social criticism. Pozniak has been a visiting artist/lecturer at Rhode Island School of Design, Tyler School of Art, and Alfred University, among others, and has been the recipient of numerous awards from institutions such as Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, and Artist Trust. jpozniak.com