Lino Tagliapietra 1934–

Lino Tagliapietra, born on Murano, was very young when he began his apprenticeship in the furnaces. In 1956, he was maestro at the Galliano Ferro workshop and after various collaborations with Venini and La Murrina, he went to work for Effetre International as artistic director in 1976. There he was able to perfect new glass textures, which he used to make extraordinary glass pieces. Since 1979, he has taught courses in Murano glass techniques at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, and in other schools in America, France, Japan, and Australia, where he has come into contact and collaborated with other glass artists. Recognized as one of the most important interpreters of contemporary glass, he experiments with the material by using glass rods which he himself composes. He creates suggestive pieces that have the most magnificent colors and finishes and that are often textured with special grindings. In the last few years, the artist has furthered his artistic development with a series of installations where the multiplication of single elements, complete in and of themselves, creates a new expressive language. More recently, he has used glass to obtain large panels composed of thick rods, sectioned in different ways, which are laid down to form a brightly colored fabric with an effect comparable to extraordinary pictorial works. His works have achieved widespread acclaim and are part of the collections of major international museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and others.