Glass Art From Urbanglass

In the last 20 years, an incredibly diverse group of important artists and designers have been associated with UrbanGlass: New York Center for Contemporary Glass, influencing the character and shape of the Studio Glass Movement in different and profound ways. This gorgeous volume documents the work of 173 of these artists, and celebrates their achievements in art and design using the most exciting art medium being explored today. An authoritative text by prominent curators, critics, and writers round out this definitive survey.

What is a woman? What is a man? How do they—and how should they—relate to each other? Does our yearning for "wholeness" refer to something real, and if there is a Whole, what is it, and why do we feel so estranged from it? For centuries now, art and literature have increasingly valorized uniqueness and self-sufficiency. The theoreticians who loom so large within contemporary thought also privilege difference over similarity. Silverman reminds us that this is but half the story, and a dangerous half at that, for if we are all individuals, we are doomed to be rivals and enemies. A much older story, one that prevailed through the early modern era, held that likeness or resemblance was what organized the universe, and that everything emerges out of the same flesh. Silverman shows that analogy, so discredited by much of twentieth-century thought, offers a much more promising view of human relations. In the West, the emblematic story of turning away is that of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the heroes of Silverman's sweeping new reading of nineteenth- and twentieth-century culture, the modern heirs to the old, analogical view of the world, also gravitate to this myth. They embrace the correspondences that bind Orpheus to Eurydice and acknowledge their kinship with others past and present. The first half of this book assembles a cast of characters not usually brought together: Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Marcel Proust, Lou-Andréas Salomé, Romain Rolland, Rainer Maria Rilke, Wilhelm Jensen, and Paula Modersohn-Becker. The second half is devoted to three contemporary artists, whose works we see in a moving new light:Terrence Malick, James Coleman, and Gerhard Richter.

The studio glass movement has truly become international, and this gorgeous book features the works of over 175 of the top known artists, such as Dan Dailey, William Morris, Linda MacNeil, Mary Shaffer, Howard Ben Tre/*, Dale Chihuly, and Karen La Monte. Richard Yelle presents this new book to celebrate the advancements in studio glass production over the last 25 years. Essays by collectors and contemporary artists worldwide introduce the gallery of over 780 stunning color photographs. Collectors have played an important role in the developments shown, and this book honors their support of the artists, galleries, and museums that promote glass art.

For five thousand years, artisans have worked in glass to create forms that serve and delight. But only recently have artists turned their hands and minds to this traditionally utilitarian and decorative material. Clearly Inspired: Contemporary Glass and Its Origins contrasts the work of contemporary glass artists with examples of earlier glass that have inspired them to rediscover or reinvent forgotten techniques. Transforming an ancient craft into a contemporary art, they honor the past while making visual statements that are very much of our time.

A sampling of glass work by 196 artists from 28 countries.