Persimmon Trio

Object NameVessels

Artist / Maker Dante Marioni ((American, b. 1964))

Date2003

MediumBlown glass

Dimensions31 1/2 in. (80 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts, Glass

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums. Gift in memory of Lori A. Jacobson from Jason D. Kogan. In the permanent collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2020.37abc

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextThe glass sculptures of Dante Marioni are technical masterpieces. Each sculpture encapsulates the virtuosity of traditional Venetian glassmaking techniques, but with unique variations that Marioni has perfected over the last three decades. He elongates forms, maximizes size, and has made those traditional motifs and techniques very much his own. As the son of one of the pioneers of the studio glass movement, Paul Marioni, and nephew to artists, Dante Marioni was ensconced in the worlds of art and glass from birth. He took to glass as a medium early in life, but did not particularly enjoy the looser aesthetic of the early studio glass makers, many of which he knew. He gravitated to the perfect symmetry of glass artist Benjamin Moore, who became a mentor, and through him met the Venetian maestro glassmaker Lino Tagliapietra. Courses and friendship with Tagliapietra taught Marioni those beautiful and technically difficult methods for which Venetian glass is so well-known. As he came into his own as an artist he took those skills, created classically inspired forms, and made them massive in acid bright color palettes. Marioni had found his own unique visual language with glass and continued to play with classical vessel shapes, coloration, and traditional techniques such as reticello. Persimmon Trio by Dante Marioni is a wonderful addition of an internationally recognized glassmaker to the University Museums growing contemporary glass collection. The collection now includes the father of American studio glass Harvey K. Littleton, the subsequent generation of experimental studio glassmakers including Paul Marioni, and the later generations of successful glass artists such as Dante Marioni and his high school friend, Preston Singletary. University Museums glass collection is considered encyclopedic, meaning it has the ability to tell the story of glassmaking from its earliest iterations, through 3,500 years of history, to the contemporary makers who today use the same material to create dynamic and highly artistic sculptures. By continuing to add to this collection, the Museums can better explore the importance of glass as a medium for everyday use and high quality art, connecting with curricula throughout Iowa State University.

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