Reflections Contemporary Glass Art of
Lino Tagliapietra
Reflections Contemporary Glass Art of
Lino Tagliapietra
November 2014
Schantz Galleries
There is an ancient saying about the Venetians, “Proficuum et honorem Venetiarum eundo et reduendo� Their goings and comings make the wealth and honor of the Venetians.
V
enice was built because her people had the desire to be in a certain place; protected and part of the trade by water route. Starting with nothing, the people brought tools and building materials across the waters from the mainland to build their cosseted and culturally rich island. The flower of the lagoon took many eons of committed Venetians to cultivate, grow and maintain, and the earliest Romans, Byzantine, Greek, Arab and Copts left evidence of their influences that have inspired scholars, historians and artists.
Like the island of Venice, the young Lino Tagliapietra started with nothing more than that same focused desire to cultivate something. Looking into the open window of the stone walled factory on the nearby island of Murano he felt the heat, heard the sound of the clanging tools and the roar of the fire, and saw the sweating men working to pull hot, glowing glass from the furnace, he went home and told his mother, “I want to be a glass blower”, and he left school much to her disappointment at the age of 11 to work in a factory. Lino began as an apprentice, and for two years he was not allowed to work with the glass, but instead was sweeping and cleaning up, and he was doing what all serious students do, he was watching and listening. Ten years later, Lino became a Maestro. For over forty-two years, Lino worked in various for-profit Murano factories including Vetreria Galliano Ferro, Venini & Co., and finally as the Artistic and Technical Director of Effetre International. Tagliapietra has been an independent artist since 1989, exhibiting in museums around the globe, receiving countless honors, openly sharing his far-reaching knowledge of the medium and his skill as one of its finest practitioners, and helping to create a new renaissance in studio glassmaking. Lino’s mother never really got over the fact he left school and perhaps in response, Lino became an autodidact, making the most of his exposure to the past and present history of Venice, as well as seeking information from books, experts and friends in his many travels throughout the world. The recipient of two honorary degrees, even in his 70’s, when asked if his mother would be impressed, he said, “maybe, but probably not” …. Perhaps that is a tiny part of what also drives Lino to keep moving forward onto the next new creation. From some graffiti in Venice, “La partenza non e altro che l’ invio del viaggio di ritorno verso casa.” The start is nothing but the beginning of the journey back to home.
Endeavor, 2005 6.25 x 69.5 x 6.25"
“I don’t invent anything new; I personalize something ... and that makes it something that nobody has done before.”
Dinosaur, 2008, 64.5 x 17.75 x 8”
Reflections by a Maestro
“I believe that you cannot know the future without knowing the past.” Celebrating his 80th birthday this August, Lino Tagliapietra—or Lino, as he is known to the Studio Glass Art world—has been at the forefront of the medium, sharing his peerless technical skills with glass blowers around the world, and continually seeking new avenues for his own artistic expression. For Tagliapietra, creating is akin to breathing and inspiration ebbs and flows with the movements of his life. He has a deep relationship with his early education in the factories in Murano, Italy and has self-proclaimed “very big eyes to the past.” Whether he is reinventing styles from his youth or experimenting with new ideas, his future as an artist
Lino Tagliapietra studies the past all over the world as well as at the Museo del Vetro in Murano, shown here with a 1943 photo of Carlo Scarpa and master glassmaker Arturo Biasutto (aka “Boboli”).
is always grounded in his past. He is a voracious reader and observer of classic techniques, continuing to learn (even though he has more knowledge to impart than almost anyone else in the field). He reveres the customs and institutions of glass and art history but also strives to surpass convention, forego custom, and freely express himself. It is in this way that a craftsman truly becomes an artist. Lino has alternately described his style as “figurative with a different perspective,” “impressionistic with a Venetian technique,” “minimalist.” It is better to eschew such nomenclature than pinpoint this master to a single genre. Appreciating his experimental nature, we still recognize his work as his because each one bears a quality that is inimitably Lino, striking a harmonious balance between form and design. He might use an old form, then research interesting graphic patterns for fusing into murrini, then audaciously put those two together. He often uses the cylinder shape because it is a good canvas for rich patterning, making abstract painting in the round in glass. At other times the form is more conceptual and the decoration plays back-up. But even when he changes his formula, he will look at a new work and sees the roots of himself in it. He rarely takes credit for inventing anything new in glass—though his followers may beg to differ on this point. Instead he feels like he personalizes existing techniques and in that way brings a new perspective. Tagliapietra’s latest work demonstrates these philosophies as it is both a return to the past and a leap into something new. In the past few years, the monochromatic palette Lino had been working exploded into one of bold colors and patterns. In his newest body of work, subtle tones reign once again on a favorite subject, the Nautilus. The perfect proportions of the ancient nautilus’ spiraling shell reflect balance, beauty, and continual growth—an apt metaphor for an artist who himself creates beautiful things but is always evolving. Lino has
a great affinity for the sea and the colorful creatures that populate it. But early one morning, maybe in a dream, he had an idea to do an installation of monochromatic Nautilus with a few accents inside of silver, gold, or blue. Reducing the design to a few select colors makes a strong statement, allowing us to appreciate the forms inside and all around without the optical distraction of color. This yet to be finished installation references the island of Venice and the Grand Canal winding through, The recently completed Borboletta installation also follows the pattern of reimagination and reinvention that defines Lino’s work. In 2011, at a solo exhibition in the opulent wood-paneled Palazzo Franchetti in Venice, Tagliapietra introduced twelve, vibrantly colored Borboletta. Again in 2012, at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma he exhibited a colorful installation of these butterfly-inspired shapes (borboletta is the Portuguese word for butterfly). His latest iteration of Borboletta is a lively and kinetic-feeling installation with a variety of open and closed forms representing the various stages of metamorphosis from pupae to cocoon to flight. Lino artfully captures the essence of transformation and once again seems to effortlessly achieve balance between seriousness and lightness. But nuance and movement are enhanced here, because this Borboletta has a subtle palette of sensitively-infused whites and grays. Instead of being drawn and locked in by color, our eyes dance with the movement of the forms. For Lino, the best thing about being an artist is this freedom to experiment and express ideas. With this freedom for originality comes the risk of failure. With so much success comes the fear of disappointment—that his latest original idea will not be appreciated and people will be left wondering what he is trying to do or say. Sometimes a conceptual piece can feel like a personal triumph but not be understood. Despite these fears, Lino continues to dream of the next big idea, of what he could create if there were no limits at all, or more likely what he will create next when he figures out how to overcome yet another supposed limit of his medium. For those of us who marvel at each piece he creates, who are never disappointed in the magic of his creative mind and able hands, only time will tell what greatness is yet to come.
Fenice Installation, 2014 21.75 x 44 x 13.5 inches
“There are two kinds of research—the easier research is for the idea or inspiration, the complex part is making real things from ideas. I have worked my whole life to develop techniques for making the parts, the color, the form and the graphic in response to my ideas.”
Ombelico del Mondo, 2014 29.5 x 22.25 x 9.5”
Ombelico del Mondo, 2014 31.5 x 24.5 x 7.25�
“I try to use old and new techniques, with the new form relating to an old form, not only in dimension, but in the quality of the form. I balance the form, the material and the concept.�
Ombelico del Mondo, 2014 31 x 24 x 8.25�
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. Maya Angelou
Metamorphosis, 2014
94 x 198 x 14�
Dinosaur, 2008, 57.25 x 14 x 6�
“I know exactly what my style is. But it is impossible to explain my style; maybe figurative with a different perspective. A type of Impressionist with Venetian technique … even more than Venetian, it’s an ancient technique.”
7 Piece Fenice Installation, 2014 21.75 x 44 x 13.5�
Clodia, 2011 19.25 x 12.25 x 10�
Fiori della Laguna, 2014 66 x 54 x 8�
“I love the concept of the Nautilus. Like the underwater world, it can sometimes be very colorful. But early one morning, maybe in a dream, I had an idea to do an installation of monochromatic Nautilus with a few special colors inside�
Nudo di Donna, 2013 59 x .5� Fused Glass Panel
Kookaburra, 2012, 26.75 x 11 x 11”
“Sometimes my work looks like a different person did it. When I feel things, I try to explore another territory, to be different, to see all of who I am, and not do the same thing all the time. At one point, I thought that my formula was changing, but when I look at the work, I see the root and realize that I am not really too far away.”
Kookaburra, 2012, 14.25 x 18.5 x 9.75�
Endeavor, 2005 8.75 x 63.75 x 6.25"
“Glass is a very old material, a natural material that relates to life.�
Endeavor, 2008 9.5 x 66.5 x 6.75"
Endeavor, 2009
6 x 62 x 7�
Schantz Galleries Contemporary Glass
Stockbridge Massachusetts www.schantzgalleries.com For information on these or other works by Lino Tagliapietra, contact the gallery at 413-298-3044 contact@schantzgalleries.com
Š 2014 Schantz Galleries, Stockbridge, MA All rights reserved. This catalogue was published to coincide with the exhibition, Reflections, The Contemporary Art of Lino Tagliaietra presented by Schantz Galleries at SOFA Chicago. Credits: Generous assistance from: CCLia & Co. and LTI Designed by: Silver City Design Studio Photography: Russell Johnson, Jim Gipe, Robert Johnson