William Warmus is a curator, art critic, and author focusing on transparent media. [1] [2] [3]
Warmus holds a B.A. in art history from the University of Chicago in 1975 and was enrolled in the Masters in General Studies in the Humanities program in 1976. [4]
He is a Fellow at the Corning Museum of Glass where he was the curator of Modern Glass from 1978 to 1984 as well as the founding editor of the New Glass Review, and editor of Glass Quarterly magazine from 1986 to 1989. He is the author of several books about sculpture, primarily focusing on artists working in glass. [4] The Warmus archive is at the Rakow Library of the Corning Museum of Glass. As noted in "The Corning Museum of Glass: Notable Acquisitions 2016" (Corning: The Museum) p.54:
"Warmus continues to be an important voice analyzing and evaluating contemporary glass. His journals chronicle the development of his theories, which predicted the end of the Studio Glass movement (1995) and posited "Glass Secessionism" with the artist Tim Tate (American, b. 1960). Warmus's philosophy of "Reticulate Aesthetics" considers the structure of art as a net or web, rather than a hierarchy."
Warmus also writes about the aesthetics of the ocean realm, which has influenced his art criticism. His theory of reticulate aesthetics is outlined in "From a Tree to a Web," American Craft, v.75, no.2, April/May 2015, pp.104-107. His observations about the end of the studio glass movement are in "The End?," Glass Quarterly, no. 60, Fall 1995, pp.42-45.
Critic and curator Lydia Matthews, writing in American Craft Inquiry (“Daring to Dive Deeply: A Conversation about Craft Writing and Criticism” Volume One, Issue One, November 2016) observed that Warmus developed his theory of Reticulate Aesthetics partly as a response to the critical positions of Clement Greenberg:
“To address this expansive complexity in the contemporary craft scene, Warmus increasingly recognized that Greenberg's focus on materiality and form alone no longer seemed viable. Inspired by the kind of embodied knowledge acquired through experiences as a scuba diver, he began to envision a new way of looking at craft – one more akin to viewing the rich underwater world.
He described this analytical viewpoint as “reticulate,” which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as: “genetic recombination involving diverse interbreeding populations.” There is no judging “good,” “better,” “best” when comparing an octopus, shark, and a coral, so why would you want to impose hierarchical critical criteria to “species” in the craft world rather than seeing them as coexisting or hybridizing within a larger, more intricate ecosystem? Reticulate criticism proposes a more horizontal, weblike, and networked approach to writing about craft, one which recognizes that our field evolves organically over time, in response to specific environmental conditions.”
In 2020 Warmus curated “Venice and American Studio Glass” with Tina Oldknow at the Stanze del Vetro Museum in Venice, exploring the profound impact of Venice on American Studio Glass artists, beginning in the 1960s. In 2022 he curated “Years of Glass” at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, exploring how glass as a medium is integrated into a contemporary fine art museum collection.
Dale Chihuly is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture".
Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional artworks. The glass objects created are intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement. Though usage varies, the term is properly restricted to glass made as art in small workshops, typically with the personal involvement of the artist who designed the piece. This is in contrast to art glass, made by craftsmen in factories, and glass art, covering the whole range of glass with artistic interest made throughout history. Both art glass and studio glass originate in the 19th century, and the terms compare with studio pottery and art pottery, but in glass the term "studio glass" is mostly used for work made in the period beginning in the 1960s with a major revival in interest in artistic glassmaking.
Venetian glass is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as gilding, enamel, or engraving. Production has been concentrated on the Venetian island of Murano since the 13th century. Today Murano is known for its art glass, but it has a long history of innovations in glassmaking in addition to its artistic fame—and was Europe's major center for luxury glass from the High Middle Ages to the Italian Renaissance. During the 15th century, Murano glassmakers created cristallo—which was almost transparent and considered the finest glass in the world. Murano glassmakers also developed a white-colored glass that looked like porcelain. They later became Europe's finest makers of mirrors.
American craft is craft work produced by independent studio artists working with traditional craft materials and processes. Examples include wood, glass, clay (ceramics), textiles, and metal (metalworking). Studio craft works tend to either serve or allude to a functional or utilitarian purpose, although they are just as often handled and exhibited in ways similar to visual art objects.
Harvey Littleton was an American glass artist and educator, one of the founders of the studio glass movement; he is often referred to as the "Father of the Studio Glass Movement". Born in Corning, New York, he grew up in the shadow of Corning Glass Works, where his father headed Research and Development during the 1930s. Expected by his father to enter the field of physics, Littleton instead chose a career in art, gaining recognition first as a ceramist and later as a glassblower and sculptor in glass. In the latter capacity he was very influential, organizing the first glassblowing seminar aimed at the studio artist in 1962, on the grounds of the Toledo Museum of Art. Imbued with the prevailing view at the time that glassblowing could only be done on the factory floor, separated from the designer at his desk, Littleton aimed to put it within the reach of the individual studio artist.
Marvin Bentley Lipofsky was an American glass artist. He was one of the six students that Studio Glass founder Harvey Littleton instructed in a program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in fall 1962 and spring 1963. He was a central figure in the dissemination of the American Studio Glass Movement, introducing it to California through his tenure as an instructor at the University of California, Berkeley and the California College of Arts and Crafts.
Lino Tagliapietra is an Italian glass artist originally from Venice, who has also worked extensively in the United States. As a teacher and mentor, he has played a key role in the international exchange of glassblowing processes and techniques between the principal American centers and his native Murano, "but his influence is also apparent in China, Japan, and Australia—and filters far beyond any political or geographic boundaries."
Dominick Labino (1910–1987) was an internationally known scientist, inventor, artist and master craftsman in glass. Labino's art works in glass are in the permanent collections of more than 100 museums throughout the world. Labino held over 60 glass-oriented patents in the United States.
Richard "Dick" Marquis is an American studio glass artist. One of the first Americans ever to work in a Venetian glass factory, he became a master of Venetian cane and murrine techniques. He is considered a pioneer of American contemporary glass art, and is noted for his quirky, playful work that incorporates flawless technique and underlying seriousness about form and color.
Michael M. Glancy was an American glass and sculpture artist and arts educator.
Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová were contemporary artists. Their works are included in many major modern art collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Dan Owen Dailey is an American artist and educator, known for his sculpture. With the support of a team of artists and crafts people, he creates sculptures and functional objects in glass and metal. He has taught at many glass programs and is professor emeritus at the Massachusetts College of Art, where he founded the glass program.
Sonja Blomdahl is an American blown glass artist.
The V&A Rotunda Chandelier is a glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly. It hangs under the glass rotunda at the entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London. Considered to be an artwork as much as a source of light, it was installed in 1999 and then substantially altered and enlarged to its current size in 2001, coinciding with a V&A exhibition of the artist's work.
Beth Lipman is a contemporary artist working in glass. She is best known for her glass still-life compositions which reference the work of 16th- and 17th-century European painters.
Ann Wolff is a glass artist who lives and works in both Gotland, Sweden, and in Berlin, Germany. Wolff's blown, engraved, and cast work explores the lives of women, their relationship with one another, and their position in society. She is considered one of the founders of the international Studio Glass movement.
Fred Tschida is an American neon artist and professor of glass.
Christina Bothwell is an American contemporary fine arts glass maker. She is known for glass, ceramic, and mixed media sculptures that portray the processes of birth, death, and renewal. Many of her pieces involve human-animal hybrids. Reviewing her 1997 solo exhibition Living with Ghosts at the Radix Gallery, New York, critic Mark Zimmerman said of her "Bothwell’s work turns symbols into spirits of creation."
Flora C. Mace is an American glass artist, sculptor, and educator. She was the first woman to teach at Pilchuck Glass School. Since the 1970s, her artistic partner has been Joey Kirkpatrick and their work is co-signed. Mace has won numerous awards including honorary fellow by the American Craft Council (2005).
Joey Kirkpatrick is an American glass artist, sculptor, wire artist, and educator. She has taught glassblowing at Pilchuck Glass School. Since the 1970s, her artistic partner has been Flora Mace and their work is co-signed. Kirkpatrick has won numerous awards including honorary fellow by the American Craft Council (2005).