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The Studio’s 2023 Artists-in-Residence Get Started

In 2023, 16 outstanding artists and scholars from around the world have been awarded highly competitive residency opportunities at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. Among them are Alicia Lomné and Harriet Schwarzrock who began their month-long residencies in February.

Harriet Schwarzrock (left) and Alicia Lomné outside The Studio.

Alicia Lomné from Washington State is an internationally accomplished artist working in the kiln casting technique of pâte de verre. Using the expansive facilities of The Studio, she is experimenting with larger and more complex forms. Specifically, inner core mold materials and application, with the hope of expanding the possibilities of scale. The work of Harriet Schwarzrock, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different. Schwarzrock, from Queanbeyan in Australia, explores motifs of circulation and respiration by using glass, plasma, and neon. During her residency, she plans to create vein-like membranes from borosilicate tubes which will become responsive plasma-illuminated forms. She anticipates that the flickering pulse of the contained plasma illumination will act as a responsive device, making visible the viewer’s presence.

We reached out to both artists at the beginning of their residencies to learn more about the impact a residency here in Corning has on their work.

Kindling a Passion for Glass: My Week at The Studio

In my role at the Museum, I have been lucky enough to get a glimpse of our week-long classes at The Studio by photographing them. I flit from class to class, usually spending a half-hour in each one. I called these moments my little amuse-bouches of glassmaking: just little teasers that made me interested in exploring glassmaking in depth for myself by taking a weeklong class.

Amanda Crans, Social Media and Photography Specialist

Thanks to Amy Schwartz, director of The Studio, I recently got to take Denise Stillwaggon Leone’s class Luminous Graphics, which explored the variety of ways one can apply photographic images to glass. As a photographer myself, this class was the perfect option for my first weeklong experience! Journey with me through this blog post to see what a week-long class at The Studio is like.

The night before classes officially began, I was invited to an introductory dinner at the Museum for all instructors, students, teaching assistants, and some Studio staff. It was a great chance to meet new people and reunite with my friend, Rita-Marie Geary, who would take Denise’s class with me.

Explore the Secret Life of Glass with Spencer Finch

Where will you be at 4:30 pm this Friday (February 24, 2023)?

Join us for the Spencer Solstice*!

Visit the Museum and see Spencer Finch’s incredible glass window, The Secret Life of Glass, as it relives the very moment that inspired the artist six years ago. And, like travelers returning to Stonehenge for each summer or winter solstice, perhaps you’ll come back every year to mark the occasion.

Guests enjoy Spencer Finch’s *The Secret Life of Glass* up close.

The Corning Museum of Glass is delighted to announce that its Board of Trustees voted unanimously in October 2022 to appoint Corey Pemberton as its newest member.

Pemberton is a glassblower and mixed-media artist living on the west coast who already has close ties to the Museum. At the end of last year, we asked him to share more about his background and to reflect on what he hopes to bring to the table as the Museum’s newest Trustee.

Corey Pemberton lives and works in Los Angeles, California, but he grew up in Virginia, a place that has manifestly shaped who he is. With two loving parents, Corey is the middle child between a younger sister and an older brother. Amazingly, everyone in Corey’s family went to Virginia Commonwealth University just as he did—Corey graduated from VCU in 2012 with a BFA in Craft and Material Studies.

New Glass Review 43: An Outside Perspective on the Best of Contemporary Glass

Get excited and check the mail, because New Glass Review returns this month for its 43rd issue.

An annual exhibition-in-print, New Glass Review features 100 of the most timely, innovative projects in glass produced during the year. Artworks include sculptures, vessels, installations, and other works in glass by emerging and established artists.

A flagship publication of The Corning Museum of Glass since 1980, New Glass Review is a cyclical reintroduction into the world of contemporary glass and the artists who inhabit it; artists who continually push the boundaries of the material and the limits of their expression.

Following an open call for submissions that receives hundreds of entries every year from countries across the world, New Glass Review is curated by the Museum’s curator of postwar and contemporary glass and a changing panel of guest curators. While the search for the Museum’s next contemporary curator was underway this past summer, Samantha De Tillio was invited to lead the selection process. De Tillo was joined by Davin K. Ebanks, Kim Harty, and Kimberly Thomas.

Amy Schwartz & William Gudenrath Honored with 2023 James Renwick Alliance for Craft Award

The Studio’s Amy Schwartz and William (Bill) Gudenrath were honored on Saturday, May 6 in Washington DC with the James Renwick Alliance for Craft (JRA) Distinguished Craft Educator Award for excellence and innovation in education. The biennial award was celebrated at the JRA Spring Craft Weekend with a Symposium, Gala, and Awards Brunch. Recognized for their influence on future artists and significant contributions to American education in the craft field, Amy and Bill’s selection as honorees was the first time in the ceremony’s 20-year history that both makers and educators were honored at the same time.

William (Bill) Gudenrath and Amy Schwartz with their award at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, May 6, 2023. Photo courtesy of the James Renwick Alliance.

Amy and Bill are the latest on a long list of distinguished honorees—the JRA Award has recognized some of the most influential craft artists in American history. This year, the other nominees included ceramic artist, social activist, and spoken word poet Roberto Lugo (the youngest artist to ever receive the Master of the Medium award); furniture maker Kristina Madsen; and curator, quilter, author, art historian, and aerospace engineer Carolyn Mazloomi.

CMoG Named One of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World”

Capping a truly momentous year for glass, The Corning Museum of Glass has achieved a new distinction: being named one of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World.”

The announcement was made during the closing festivities of the United Nations International Year of Glass (IYOG) 2022. The year officially concluded with a Conference and Ceremony at the University of Tokyo, Japan, on December 8-9, which was attended by our very own President and Executive Director Karol Wight. This event was followed by an official debriefing held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on December 14.

Lino Tagliapietra in the Museum’s Amphitheater Hot Shop, May 13, 2022.

Lino Tagliapietra may be retiring, but not before one final visit to The Corning Museum of Glass. Last weekend was a monumental one for Lino, the glassblowers and staff at the Museum, and all the guests who filled the Amphitheater Hot Shop to see the Maestro at work during what will be his final performance in Corning.

To celebrate Lino’s enduring legacy, we asked those lucky enough to know and work with him, to describe the impact he has made on the glass world. To no surprise, the response was fervent and unanimous: Lino’s impact is, and will always be, extraordinary!