Lino Tagliapietra

Lino Tagliapietra is one of the most important living glassmakers in the world. His masterful prowess of the material is undeniable and his works of art are included in the most prominent international museums that collect glass. Born in Murano, the Italian island where Venetian glass has been made for centuries, he became an apprentice glassblower at the age of 11 and at the age of 21 was already considered a “Maestro”, a title only given to the very best glassmakers. In 1979, he traveled to Seattle and began to introduce a new generation of American glassmakers to Venetian techniques that have informed the art of many of those now well-known glassmakers. As University Museums continues to expand our encyclopedic glass collection, the inclusion of Tagliapietra helps to broaden the depth of our contemporary glass collection, along with adding an Italian glassmaker, an area of the collection that needs further development. Adding Tagliapietra greatly enhances the entire collection, while also perfectly connecting with the few examples of 16th and 17th century Venetian glass given by Henry and Ann Brunnier, as the techniques used are the same, but with a contemporary style.