Lino Tagliapietra


The Artist

One of the world's most eminent living glass artists, Lino Tagliapietra was born in1934 on the island of the centuries-old center for Venetian glassmaking, Murano.  At the age of eleven, he was apprenticed to the glass studio of the internationally known Muranese master, Archimede Seguso, and achieved the rank of maestro by age twenty-one.  He later worked as master glassblower and designer at other glass studios, including Galliano Ferro, Venini, La Murrina, and Effetre International.

Murano Murano Archimede Seguso Archimede & Lino La Murrina Effetre International Rainbow

In the sixties, Tagliapietra began to develop his design skills by implementing his own concepts as well as those of others’.  In the seventies, he was deeply influenced by his participation in La Scuola Internazionale del Vetro symposiums held in Murano.  These gatherings brought the finest Muranese masters together with artists from various disciplines all over the world.  In the eighties, he became increasingly recognized for his collaboration with other artists and for the translation of their concepts into molten glass.  Perhaps the most profound impact on his work came from his collaboration with the distinguished Dutch glass designer A.D. Copier.  Copier changed his view of glass as a medium for art. In a dedication to Copier, Tagliapietra said, "What did I learn from him?  Not any technical skills, but more importantly, the way to see and think about glass objects as works of art."

Effetre International Lino & A.D. Copier Lino & A.D. Copier Lino & A.D. Copier Lino & Dailey Lino & Steuben

For the past three decades, Tagliapietra has generously shared his unsurpassed experience, understanding, and knowledge of traditional Venetian glassblowing techniques with glass artists and audiences around the world.  He has been largely responsible for a new renaissance in glassblowing that has swept through the world of studio glassmaking.  It is not exaggerating to say that he has affected the course of glass history by helping to raise the international standards of glass craftsmanship.

Pilchuck Haystack 1969 1970 1984 1992

In the mid-eighties, he made the transition from the traditional Venetian master glassblower and glass designer to that of independent studio artist.  He was finally free to devote his attention to focus on his own artistic expression and unique works. The last decade has become an immensely creative period for him.  "Through his work, we see the transformation of old elements to new concepts.  Lino Tagliapietra is one of the few glassmakers who can successfully transmit his own sensitivity and intellect into an inanimate object.  That is what makes us respond so powerfully to his work and what makes him an artist," said Susanne K. Frantz, former curator of 20th-century glass at The Corning Museum of Glass.  "His vessels and sculptures, which often incorporate filigree decoration, are on a technical level equal to the finest achievements of historic Venetian glassmaking."

For many years, while working within the old tradition where great glass masters execute designs of others, Tagliapietra has also designed and made his own work.  In the nineties, he has moved beyond the excellence in execution, and has since exclusively designed and made his own work, with continuous bursts of creative inspiration.

1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1988
1989 1990 1991 1991 1992 1993 1993
1994 1995 1995 1996 1996 1997 1997 1998
1998 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000 2001

Much honored by the world of studio glass, Tagliapietra has received numerous awards.  Appreciated by the audiences worldwide, his work has been exhibited by or is in the permanent collections of countless major museums.

Rakow Commission Award - G.A.S.

 

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