Born and raised in a creative atmosphere dedicated to decorative arts, Suzanne Lalique (1892-1989) was encouraged by her father René, the well-known designer of jewelry and glassware, to participate in the family enterprise. From 1920 to 1930, a large part of the Lalique glass production was inspired by her watercolors, that reveal her passion for...
This distinctly shaped glass vessel, with its thin tapering neck and wide body, was specially designed for growing flowering plants in their off-season, a process known as ‘forcing bulbs’. It is often called a hyacinth vase, after the fragrant flower commonly grown indoors. One would fill the vase with enough water that the bulb, when...
This three tiered chandelier in the form of a cascading fountain is garlanded with swags of cut glass drops. Three delicately blown baluster-shaped pieces of cobalt glass are linked by chains of gilt metal. The reserved neoclassical form and use of blue glass strongly indicate that the chandelier was made during the last quarter of the eighteenth century in...
See how glassblowing works in this short video. Partner glassblowers Romina Gonzales and Edison Zapata demonstrate how to blow a simple drinking cup. They are working in the new studios at UrbanGlass, in Brooklyn. This project took about 1 hour total. About this series: Design Dictionary is a new Cooper Hewitt video series that vividly...
Murano, an island located just north of Venice, Italy, in the Laguna Veneta, has been a glass-making center since the late 13th century. This cheerfully colorful pezzato (dappled) vase was produced by the Venini Glassworks of Murano. Founded by Paulo Venini in 1925, the firm retained the great technical traditions of Venetian glass-working methods while developing a new...
It is easy to miss the highlights when you don’t know where to look. At Design Miami/ 2012, there were many, and the guided tours I led sought to help visitors navigate the fair by taking a deep dive into the content, illuminating themes and historical continuity in the contemporary work. What follow are five...
GlassLab, the Corning Museum's live glass design program, features a team of expert glassmakers, who work alongside graphic designers included in Cooper-Hewitt's current exhibition, Graphic Design−Now in Production to create innovative pieces based on the designers' ideas, concepts, and sketches that reflect themes from the exhibition. The GlassLab program has provided acclaimed designers with the...
Only a few short weeks left to see Ted Muehling Selects: Lobmeyr Glass from the Permanent Collection. Watch designer Ted Muehling and curator Sarah Coffin as they discuss highlights from the exhibition in this 5 minute walkthrough: Curated by Ted Muehling, the exhibition draws from the museum’s recent acquisition of 163 rare examples of...
Watch designer Ted Muehling and curator Sarah Coffin as they discuss highlights from the exhibition, "Ted Muehling Selects: Lobmeyr Glass from the Permanent Collection" in this 5 minute gallery walkthrough.
Thomas Geisler will speak about contemporary design work in Austria, including Viennese tableware, 20th century and contemporary design. Thomas is design curator at the Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Arts (MAK) in Vienna and co-founder of Vienna Design Week which has initiated projects with contemporary designers and local traditional manufactures such as J.&L. Lobmeyr...
Annette Ahrens will give an overview and the historic lineage of Viennese tableware designs, production and design influences from 1850 to the present day. The talk will focus on the relationship of the Lobmeyr designs to design in Austria and Bohemia-Chekia and of the relationship of Czech production to Lobmeyr in both 19th and 20th...
First stop: Moorhead & Moorhead’s Design Miami/ tent exterior. The Cooper-Hewitt group was greeted by brothers, Robert (industrial designer) and Granger (architect), to talk about the dynamic canopied entrance to the design show – a bris soleil of hand cut, twisted vinyl strips that perform a dance of shadows on the ground. Taking a...
Ted Muehling Expounds Ted hosted a group of Cooper-Hewitt members at his studio and store in SoHo this week, as you can see from the Monday at Muehling’s post, giving them a peek at his wonderfully creative environment full of glass, emotive sculpture and creatures from the natural world. He is also the guest curator...
Ted Muehling, curator of Ted Muehling Selects: Lobmeyr Glass from the Permanent Collection invited Cooper-Hewitt’s Design Watch Members to his SoHo showroom for a private behind-the-scenes visit. On this rainy Monday, Members passed the noisy construction on Howard Street, left their umbrellas by the door, and retreated into a haven of design. As Members sipped...
GlassLab was a really unique adventure. I had been to The Corning Museum of Glass a few times and even seen glass blown there, but never had the “on-hand” experience of directing the blowers to create the piece as exact as I wanted it. Coming from a world of plastics and vinyl, it was very...
