Italian glass master will blow your mind
Italian glass master Lino Tagliapietra is holding his first solo exhibition in China at the Liuli China Art Museum. The exhibition, “One Of A Kind,” features 48 of his large-scale glass works. Visually abstract, texturally distinctive and vibrantly colored, his works render an elegant and poetic feel to viewers.
Proclaimed as “one of the finest contemporary glass artists” by New York Times and Corning Museum of Glass, Tagliapietra was born in 1934 on the island of Murano. The lure of glass attracted him from a young age, and at 10 he dropped out of school to be an apprentice under master Archimede Seguso.
From fetching water and sweeping floors to eventually assisting Seguso in glass blowing, Tagliapietra's skills were honed through observations and hands-on experience.
By the age of 23, he had earned the rank of “maestro” and subsequently designed for internationally recognized glass studios.
“Glass is an amazing material, because it is alive. Even when cooled, it is still shifting. When joined with fire and water, its connection to nature is intrinsic. Glass is my life,” said Tagliapietra at the opening of the exhibition in Shanghai.
For example, “Angel Tear” is his breakthrough series. Each tear-shaped sculpture features a narrow base, wide center and elongated neck. Widely received, the shape has since become his signature.
Tagliapietra is also a master of cane techniques. In glass making, cane refers to rods of glass with color used to create intricate effects and patterns. The artist determines color placement within the cane. However, not every glass-blower could grasp its complexity. Tagliapietra creates filament in unique hue formulations and varying width and crisscrosses them against each other.
The subtlety and variety in the colors of his glass rods have established his status in the glass art world.
His works have been collected by more than 35 internationally renowned museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Exhibition details
Date: Through March 8, 2018, 10am-5pm
Venue: Liuli China Art Museum
Address: 25 Taikang Rd
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