american - habatat · known as the risd whiz kids. the risd whiz kids, under the tutelage of dale...

P R E V I E W S O F W O R K S F O R S A L E AT U P C O M I N G S H O W S C O A S T T O C O A S T • G L A S S A R T S P E C I A L S E C T I O N A P R I L 2 0 1 4 I S S U E 1 0 2

A M E R I C A N

C O L L E C T O R

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Dale Chihuly, Summer Sun, 2010, 15 x 14 x 14’. Desert Botanical

Garden, Phoenix, installed 2013. Photo by Scott M. Leen.

GLASS ROOTSF E R D I N A N D H A M P S O N T R A C E S

T H E H I S T O R Y O F C O L L E C T I N G

G L A S S A R T I N A M E R I C A T O

I T S R O O T S I N T H E E A R LY 1 9 8 0 S .

The 1980s began with a small, but enthusiastic, group of

collectors, and generally centered on galleries that off ered

Studio Glass. The people who collected came from a wide range

of backgrounds, including teachers, accountants, attorneys, and

doctors among other professions. Prices ranged from $500 to a few thousand

dollars. In a 1977 exhibition of Harvey Littleton sculptures at Habatat

Galleries, prices ranged from $600 to $1,800. By 2000, his work fetched

$25,000 to $60,000. In 1983, Habatat Galleries had an exhibition of the work

of Czech artists Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova, where the

prices ranged between $1,200 and $6,000. Twenty years later, these works

would command up to thirty times as much. This type of escalation is

not that uncommon with the noted artists working with glass, and is a just

reward for those early collectors that acquired objects of glass for their

beauty and enjoyment with little concern for economic gain. Jean and

Hilbert Sosin from Michigan, Bruce and Judy Bendoff from Illinois, Jerry

and Simona Chazen of New York, and Dudley and Lisa Anderson of North

Carolina, were some of the couples who enjoyed the mutual experience of

this new and exciting art material. Although some of the early collectors

could not keep up with the escalating prices, those who could developed

historic collections that eventually spanned decades.

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Accompanying them, a new type of art

collector emerged. These were people who

were economically capable of collecting

almost anything, but chose to focus on

Studio Glass. By the mid-1980s, collectors,

like noted San Francisco businessman

George Saxe and his wife Dorothy, were

extremely important, not just for the

economic impact they had, but for their

understanding of what were the optimum

conditions for the market of studio glass.

Prior to this decade many artists would sell

out of their studios to collectors, resenting

the idea of paying a commission to a middle

man. The Saxes realized that a strong gallery

system was essential and always asked the

artist which gallery would invoice them for

the sale. Later they helped many museums,

including the Toledo Museum of Art and

the de Young Museum of San Francisco,

by donating key works to their developing

collections. Ben and Natalie Heineman from

Chicago also had a signifi cant impact. Mr.

Heineman was a legendary businessman

and his interest brought other important

businessmen to collecting Studio Glass,

and at the same time gave a whole new

group of collectors a confidence in the

medium. His book Contemporary Glass

– A Private Collection, 1988, is one of the

early publications on Studio Glass. In 2009,

the Heinemans donated their extensive

collection to the Corning Museum of

Glass, which, in itself, generated another

signifi cant publication. As demand for the

artists’ works grew and prices began to

increase, allowing the artists to build more

sophisticated studios and spend more time

and energy developing each sculpture. This,

in turn, caused prices to increase even more.

With revenues moving beyond “the survivor

level,” galleries spent more money on

catalogues and magazine advertisements.

Museums that did not specialize in glass

became interested in producing or hosting

exhibitions to appease curators and a public

that had now been exposed and craved to

see more.

No other artist capitalized more on

the growing interest in glass than Dale

Chihuly. By 1980, he was becoming a well-

known artist, just like many others. By the

end of the 1980s, there was Dale Chihuly,

on the one hand, and the rest of the artists

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Marvin Lipofsky, Lauscha Group

1997 #4, blown glass, 11 x 21 x 16"

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on the other. He was a master conductor,

orchestrating teams of artists to create

his seemingly endless ideas. He saw

beyond national boundaries, making the

world a receptacle for his art. His prolifi c

abilities working with glass enabled

him to exhibit in multiple galleries and

museums while participating in countless

group shows as well. Even in his more

economically humble days, he understood

the importance of marketing. He told a

group of artists who were complaining

about the cost of photography, that

one can never spend too much on

photographic images. He hired the best

photographers and spent many times

more money than other artists—but it was

all worth it. When a magazine needed a

photo for research or advertising, the

very best galleries could off er was one

of Chihuly’s. His understanding of the

market was important to his career, but

his ability to exploit the properties of

glass was more significant. His work

merged the sensuous qualities of glass

with forms that were the perfect conduit

for the medium. His understanding of

the marriage of light and glass made his

objects glowing visual sensations.

The artists working with glass in the

1980s continued to experience a great

deal of resistance from the fi ne arts world.

One long-awaited article from the fine

arts perspective was published in Art In

America in 1983. The article, “American

Glass, A Requiem” by art critic Robert

Silberman, however, off ered a cold shoulder

and less enthusiasm than those involved in

Studio Glass were anticipating! The eff ect

of this and other rebuff s from the fi ne arts

community was that many insecure artists

tried to force their work to relate to the fi ne

arts, often resulting in sculpture that was

ill-conceived in terms of why it existed. The

most innovative and exciting art is based

on an accumulation of life experiences

that are internalized and translated into a

medium. There was a distinct feeling that

several artists working in glass were not

drawing from this inner source, but were

instead inspired by work that had been

created by other artists in more traditional

and accepted media, like paint, stone,

bronze, or ceramic. If one believes that great

sculpture gives the viewer a new visual

experience, these objects did not qualify as

signifi cant art. This lack of acceptance led

to a consolidation of galleries exclusively

exhibiting glass, and a medium existing

primarily in its own museums and

publications, and with its own art critics.

At the same time, however, it also caused a

re-evaluation of the medium, and ultimately

a freedom for the artists.

One artist who came from a background

of hot glass and successfully made the

transition to the fi ne art world was Howard

Ben Tré. Although he had his start in the

glass world with Hadler Rodriguez Gallery,

New York and Houston, and Habatat

Galleries, Michigan, Howard Ben Tré had

a much larger vision. He once said that

he would rather be the least known artist

in a prestigious fi ne art gallery than the

best known artist in a gallery involved

with glass. His distinguished career has

not only commanded respect by the fi ne

art world, but in some ways led him to

create projects that went beyond nearly

every contemporary sculptor’s dream. He

went from single sculptures to multiple

sculptural environments, culminating

in the design and development of over

twenty-fi ve site specifi c public projects. In

2002, he created seventy-three installations

in the city of Warrington, England, that

transformed the city center and all the

entrances to it. Although his story is

inspiring, few others could fi nd this bridge,

much less navigate their way across.

Howard Ben Tré had been part of the

second generation of artists working with

glass, and, at the Rhode Island School of

Design, became a member of what became

known as the RISD Whiz Kids. The RISD

Whiz Kids, under the tutelage of Dale

Chihuly, director of the RISD sculpture

program (1969-1980), turned out artists

such as Toots Zynsky, Dan Dailey, Bruce

Chow, Steve Weinberg, and Michael

Glancy. The dealers of that era eagerly

anticipated the next graduating program!

Whether Dale Chihuly had the ability to

develop great talent or great talent sought

him out, remains unclear. In retrospect, it

was probably a little of each. He always

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Shelley Muzylowski Allen at work.

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Howard Ben Tré, Lightness of

Being #6, cast glass, bronze and

patina, 87½ x 8 x 8"

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Tomas Hlavicka, FEMINA,

cut, polished, laminated glass,

gold leafi ng, 23¼ x 7½ x 4¾"

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liked to surround himself with talented

people, whether they were students,

business people, writers, or others who

excel in a particular area. Artists emerged

from a variety of college and university

programs, but not in the concentration that

RISD off ered. By the mid-1980s, multiple

paths would become available for artists

to make a living. Glass as an art medium

gained public recognition and a self-

confi dence that was not so visible earlier

in the decade. The lack of acceptance by

the fi ne arts community was compensated

by a growing interest among sophisticated

and intelligent collectors, critics, museum

curators, and galleries. Artists were inspired

by their peers’ progress and the expanded

importance of artists working with glass

from Europe and Asia, who often seemed

to have a better understanding, or perhaps

a benign lack of interest, in the art versus

craft controversy. This self-confidence,

coupled with a strong education in the arts,

translated into meaningful work that could

address social, political, and narrative

issues. These were the same concepts with

which artists of any medium struggle and

fi nd inspiration. However, not everyone

coming out of these programs became

noted artists. Many chose to work for other

artists, and this highly skilled group would

help accelerate many artists’ careers.

To a large degree, American Studio Glass

began and was perpetuated by artists

from well-educated, middle to upper

middle class, and, in some cases, wealthy,

Caucasian families. In the earlier years

women were a rarity, primarily because

of the physical strength and endurance

required by the medium. Gradually,

however, these unwritten rules and

limitations changed. It became acceptable

for the artist to be the designer, and to

have a support team for some of the

more physically demanding executions.

More and more women became involved

in Studio Glass and, today, women are

creating many of the signifi cant works,

being recognized as one of the fastest

developing demographics in Studio Glass.

The 1990s were the decade of true

recognition for studio glass. There were

more museum exhibitions involving glass

than in the previous thirty years combined.

Museums around the world developed

international exhibitions that included

American artists working with glass.

In 1992, the international glass exhibit,

“Cristalomancia” set the attendance record

at the Tamayo Museum in Mexico City. It

continued on to the Marcos Museum in

Monterrey, Mexico, bringing international

glass to an enthusiastic Mexican audience.

Dale Chihuly continued to dazzle record

crowds with one-man museum exhibits

in fi ve continents and more than a dozen

countries. His chandeliers for “Chihuly over

Venice,” 1996, were created in four countries

and then brought to the backdrop of Venice.

This magnifi cent exposition acted as an

announcement that glass was limitless in

the creative hands. In 1999, Chihuly followed

a decade of astounding presentations with

“Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem,” at the

Tower of David Museum, which was viewed

by over one million visitors. American

artists working with glass appeared in

international exhibitions in Europe, Japan,

and Taiwan, and additional exhibitions in

Mexico. In Japan, several museums became

active in exhibiting American Studio Glass.

Perhaps most noteworthy was the Hokkaido

Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan,

which held catalogued international glass

exhibits in 1985, 1988, 1991, and 1994. “The

Glass Skin” (1997-1998), was a travelling

exhibition seen in Japan, Germany, and the

United States, and curated by three museum

curators, one from each of those countries.

The thematic concept of glass as skin

created a new context in which to evaluate

the art form.

Artists emerged that gave the world

a growing respect for this material. No

longer could an artist appear as a new star

based on a new technique alone. Artists

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began to emerge because of content, and

not just content in relationship to other

artists working with glass, but content

as the uniqueness of their work related

to other media. Martin Blank developed

his abilities under the tutelage of Dale

Chihuly and proved that he possessed

enormous skill and an active and creative

mind. He has segued eff ortlessly through

several extraordinary bodies of work.

Dan Clayman used his background in

theatrical lighting to create large scale

sculptures that appear minimal until the

viewer becomes involved in the subtle,

but elaborate, surfaces. other artists, such

as Leah Wingfield, Rick Beck, Charles

Miner, Danny Perkins, and Debora Moore,

added a full range of ideas, demonstrating

the versatility of the material. American

artists and craftsman developed skills in

blowing glass that would compete with

the great glasshandlers of Murano, Italy.

Seattle-based artists Rich Royal, Ben

Moore, Bill Morris, and Dante Marioni

became known internationally for their

skill with a blow pipe.

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Jack Schmidt,

Pepper III, blown,

assembled glass,

steel, 58½ x 15 x 10"

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Janusz

Walentynowicz,

Ultima, cast glass,

18 x 19 x 19"

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Brent Kee Young,

Matrix Series:

“Forging Ahead ….

Revere the Past”,

An Anvil, hot

sculpted borosilicate

glass, 29 x 10 x 9"

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Zora Palova,

Up and Down,

cast glass,

26 x 29½ x 10"

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