The international conference Venice and American Studio Glass, promoted by the Glass Study Centre, is scheduled for Monday 11 January 2021 at 6 pm (CET) live on the Fondazione Giorgio Cini YouTube channel. The conference will explore the background to the Studio Glass movement which saw glass progressively become a revitalised medium and means of expression for the creativity of American artists.

In fact, in the mid-20th century, the laboratories of the Toledo Museum of Art developed a growing interest in glass blowing techniques. A key factor in this new development was the powerful influence that traditional Venetian techniques, and therefore Murano aesthetics, exercised on the study and unexpected evolution of glass in contemporary art. The great impact of Venetian glassmaking was due to its use by illustrious masters, such as Dale Chihuly, Benjamin Moore, Dante Marioni, William Morris and Lino Tagliapietra, who steered experimental developments towards non-tradition- al paths, radically influencing artists and designers of the new generation.

Thanks to the presence of internationally renowned artists and experts - such as Tina Oldknow, William Warmus, Kim Harty, Lino Tagliapietra, Katya Heller, Norwood Viviano, Deborah Czeresko, Preston Singletary, Raven Skyriver, Flora Mace, Joey Kirkpatrick, Tina Aufiero and Kait Rhoads - the conference will examine the diverse dynamics and variants that this singular “love relationship” with Venetian glass set in motion through its growing diffusion in the United States and rest of the world.

Download the programme