Lino Tagliapietra: Shaping Glass Artistry Across Decades
Lino Tagliapietra – Dinosaur. Sold for $35,000 USD via Rago Arts and Auction Center (January 2023).
Lino Tagliapietra, an icon in the realm of glass artistry, has left an indelible mark on the field spanning several decades. Originally hailing from Murano, Italy, his traditional Venetian artistic sensibility transcended borders to significantly impact the American glassblowing scene.
Through his extensive teaching and boundless creativity, the lexicon of Venetian glassblowing has diffused across political and geographical boundaries. This article delves into his profound influence and spotlights some of his most renowned creations.
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The Life and Career of Lino Tagliapietra
Lino Tagliapietra’s journey spanned nearly eight illustrious decades, encompassing a rich tapestry of artistic evolution. Here is a loose chronology of his artistic odyssey.
Early Life and Career
Born on August 10, 1934, on the island of Rio dei Vetri in Murano, Italy, Tagliapietra was immersed in the island’s rich glassblowing heritage. Initiated into the artistry at the tender age of 12 under the tutelage of glass maestro Archimede Seguso, he embarked on a journey of honing his craft. His pursuit of excellence led him to explore the works of color-focused Abstract Expressionist luminaries like Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Ellsworth Kelly. Despite a brief interruption for military service, he earned the prestigious rank of maestro at just 21. His marriage to Lina Ongaro, a scion of a prominent glass-producing family, was a pivotal point in his career.
Shaping the Glass World
Lino Tagliapietra, – Twenty-Piece Masai Wall Sculpture. Sold for $112,500 via Hindman (May 2019).
Tagliapietra’s influence expanded over the next 25 years as he collaborated with prominent glass factories in Murano. His impact reached across the Atlantic through collaborations with Dale Chihuly, a renowned glass artist. The mutual exchange of techniques and knowledge between Tagliapietra and Chihuly bridged the gap between Venetian and Western glassblowing traditions. His workshops at La Scuola Internazionale del Vetro in Murano and the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state fostered unprecedented transparency in glass artistry.
Later in his Career: From Industry to Independence
Transitioning from commercial endeavors to solo art projects in the 1980s, Tagliapietra explored innovative techniques. His debut solo exhibition in Seattle in 1990 marked a turning point. Incorporating carving, layering, and Italian glass-working methods, he crafted intricate pieces that captivated the art world. His artistry received acclaim, culminating in a 2011 exhibition at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arte. In 2021, after nearly 80 years of artistic contribution, Tagliapietra announced his retirement.
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Lino Tagliapietra’s Signature Style
Tagliapietra’s artistic signature is an amalgamation of diverse influences, resulting in a distinctive style characterized by several key traits.
Lino Tagliapietra -Exceptional battuto glass vessel. Sold for $31,000 USD via Rago Arts and Auction Center (October 2011).
Vibrant Color
Tagliapietra’s glass art exemplifies typical Muranese glass-making techniques, showcasing bold, bright colors and lively patterns. In fact, he would often create his own pigments for his glass work to maintain precise control over his art’s color palette. The tints and shades that Tagliapietra uses often reflect his optimism and virtuosity.
Venetian Glass Craftsmanship
Learning Venetian glassmaking traditions in Murano — a city renowned for these techniques — helped to shape Tagliapietra’s art. Muranese traditions taught him how to create pieces rich in color variety, complexity, and delicacy while also informing his creative process. He approached his work with a Venetian sense of glass design, simultaneously considering the piece’s aesthetic characteristics and how best to produce it.
Lino Tagliapietra -Saturno glass sculpture with white zanfirico rods, 1990. Sold for $7,500 USD via Rago Arts and Auction Center (April 2009).
Modernist Inspirations
Lino Tagliapietra studied the modernist stylings of Rothko, Newman, and Kelly to inform his own artistic works. The more abstract nature of his art can be traced to Rothko and Newman’s work as part of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Kelly’s output may have informed the simplistic designs and shapes of many of Tagliapietra’s art pieces.
The “Saturn” technique
While working with one of Murano’s prominent glass factories, La Murrina, Tagliapietra developed his signature “Saturn” technique of glass blowing. The resulting shape is a spherical solid piece of colored glass bisected by a ring collar. This method of glass artistry became prominent in his work and signified his personal style.
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Lino Tagliapietra’s Celebrated Work
Tagliapietra produced a wealth of artwork during his decades of glassblowing, Many of his works are held in the collections of museums across the world, and the three below rank among his most famous.
The Dinosaur Series
Tagliapietra’s ‘Dinosaur’ series involves a technique in which the top of the piece is stretched out in the final moments of the glassblowing process. The innate difficulty of this technique requires a team’s assistance to create the series’ distinctive flowing lines. The intensity of creating one of these pieces, not to mention the striking final product, reflects the drama of the glassblowing process.
The Endeavor Series
Lino Tagliapietra -Endeavor, 2005. Image credit: WikiArt.
The ‘Endeavor’ series began in the late 1980s, with Tagliapietra taking inspiration from the Venetian boats known as gondolas. These boats would appear in droves in the Venetian Lagoon on the feast day of the Ascension of the Virgin. Works in the ‘Endeavor’ series resemble the gondolas, with colored glass molded into swooping shapes that Tagliapietra imagined were floating in space. Weightlessness is a running theme throughout the 18 pieces that make up the ‘Endeavor’ series, which took Tagliapietra a decade to complete.
The Fenice Series
Lino Tagliapietra – Fenice, 2016. Sold for $18,000 via Rago Arts and Auction Center (May 2023).
The ‘Fenice’ series encapsulates playful curves and tapered ends. Achieved through the intricate “avventurina” technique, sparkling particles within the glass pay homage to Venice’s La Fenice theater.
An Enduring Legacy
Glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra has made pivotal contributions to the techniques and glass artistry that define the movement today. Through his workshops and knowledge exchanges with American artists, he accelerated the widespread adoption of Venetian glassblowing terminology and processes. His works remain on display in art museums worldwide — even in retirement, Tagliapietra ranks among the most influential figures within the medium.
