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Lot Essay
The importance of Lino Tagliapietra in the modern history of Murano glass is unparalleled. First encountering the magic of glassmaking on the island of Murano at the age of six, Tagliapietra dropped out of school at eleven to apprentice under the master glassblower Archimede Seguso at the Glliano Ferro workshop. Seguso’s novel style and inventive approach to art glass was revolutionary, as he was among the first artisans to both design and execute his own work. Up to that point, the Murano glass tradition was to have a designer working alongside an artisan to execute the design. Seguso’s approach to glass set the stage for 20th century art glass where artist and maker became one. Tagliapietra achieved the rank of maestro at the age of 21 and Seguso’s fine Merletto and Piume techniques had a lasting impact on him. More importantly, the idea of glassmaking on equal footing to sculpture was firmly cemented in Tagliapietra.
The most important sculptural works in glass by Lino Tagliapietra take the form of installation art with several elements of similar composition or technique residing in a common space. The present work, a rare and important Nuvola sculpture, borrows from the concept of multiple works as singular sculpture. In this case, however, the 18 individual works are fused together through an impossibly difficult process, to create a singular sculptural masterpiece. This is truly the work of a Murano glass maestro, who broke with tradition with the once secretive techniques of Murano, disseminating them to the world. In 2014, Tagliapietra spent a period of time at Bullseye Glass in Portland, Oregon where three Nuvola sculptures were made. Each of the three Nuvola sculptures is unique in its color palette and overall shape, with the present lot having the greatest range of primary colors and exhaustively polished on both sides, making it unique. The technique of making the sculptures was among the most complex and demanding work ever executed by Tagliapietra. The process had to be adapted to accommodate the constraints of time and the facility at Bullseye. Each of the elements in the sculpture was blown as a separate ball at the furnace and run across the vast workshop to the glass fusing kiln while still on its punty. Each work was then carefully placed side by side in the kiln, where they flattened and fused. This process itself, and the different rates of annealing each color demands, created risks for the sculpture every step of the way. The result is miraculous, a symphony of hypnotic linear design and exceptional color: a true masterwork by Tagliapietra.
The most important sculptural works in glass by Lino Tagliapietra take the form of installation art with several elements of similar composition or technique residing in a common space. The present work, a rare and important Nuvola sculpture, borrows from the concept of multiple works as singular sculpture. In this case, however, the 18 individual works are fused together through an impossibly difficult process, to create a singular sculptural masterpiece. This is truly the work of a Murano glass maestro, who broke with tradition with the once secretive techniques of Murano, disseminating them to the world. In 2014, Tagliapietra spent a period of time at Bullseye Glass in Portland, Oregon where three Nuvola sculptures were made. Each of the three Nuvola sculptures is unique in its color palette and overall shape, with the present lot having the greatest range of primary colors and exhaustively polished on both sides, making it unique. The technique of making the sculptures was among the most complex and demanding work ever executed by Tagliapietra. The process had to be adapted to accommodate the constraints of time and the facility at Bullseye. Each of the elements in the sculpture was blown as a separate ball at the furnace and run across the vast workshop to the glass fusing kiln while still on its punty. Each work was then carefully placed side by side in the kiln, where they flattened and fused. This process itself, and the different rates of annealing each color demands, created risks for the sculpture every step of the way. The result is miraculous, a symphony of hypnotic linear design and exceptional color: a true masterwork by Tagliapietra.