HOLSTEN GLASS NEWS |
Publisher: Kenn Holsten
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In This Issue |
Quote of the Month |
"In looking at (William) Morris’s art, we are reminded of what it is to be ancient, what it is to be human; we momentarily reconnect with that elemental aspect of our psyches… that Carl Jung termed the collective unconscious…it is Morris’s ability to enter and work within the realm of the unconscious that makes him a superior artist."
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Spring in the Berkshires |
Spring has arrived in the Berkshires after the coldest and snowiest winter in years. At the time of this writing (May 24), the lilacs are at their most beautiful and most fragrant stage. Although we’ve only had a few days that one could actually call warm, we know that summer is just around the corner. We are excited about all of the new works we are receiving from our artists on a daily basis, among them a new Lino Tagliapietra wall installation, a new Chihuly Chandelier, three new bronzes by William Morris (including a Canopic Jar), and the beautiful “Cubic Heart Vessel” by Sidney Hutter which is our staff pick of the month. We are also busy preparing for the SOFA-New York exhibition (May 29-June) where we will present three one-person exhibitions by Latchezar Boyadjiev, Marvin Lipofsky and Martin Rosol. Finally, a major glass exhibition, “Masters of Contemporary Glass,” (curated by our Director, Jim Shantz) has just opened for the summer at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, which will also host a major exhibition of the works of William Morris, opening mid June. We hope to see many of you at SOFA and in the Berkshires this summer!
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25th Anniversary of Holsten Galleries!: |
June 2003 marks the 25th anniversary of our opening (June 10, 1978). It seems impossible that we have actually been in business here for two and a half decades. Some of you have been our customers for that entire time and will remember that we first opened as a multi-media crafts gallery. In our wildest dreams, we could not have foreseen the type, quality (and, yes, price range) of work we would be showing 25 years later. Only a few of the artists we currently represent were even making glass art at that time. So we have literally grown up along with the studio glass movement. For the first ten years or so we continued to show ceramics, fiber art and art jewelry along with the glass. Gradually we became more specialized and ultimately became a single-media gallery. It has been an immense pleasure to be part of the immense growth of glass as an artistic medium. The best part has been getting to know and work with so many great collectors and artists. The other great part of our business is that we are surrounded by the beauty and color of this wonderful art form every day. We feel truly blessed to have been as successful as we have and want to take this opportunity to thank all of you, our collectors, and all of the artists we work with, for helping to make our first 25 years so enjoyable.
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Artist of the Month: |
Our Artist of the Month is Sidney Hutter, whose playfully deliberate work with color and form challenges and delights our concepts of both. Hutter is perhaps best known for his innovative exploration of the uses of modern materials such as industrial plate glass and UV sensitive adhesives to redefine the accepted images of the vessel, or vase form. He enjoys the dichotomy in his work of traditionally curved outlines formed from an architecturally designed use of layered glass. Consistently breaking scientific ground with his new uses of industrial materials, Hutter’s glass sculptures prove that there is no end in sight to the discovery of new ways to create art with an ancient and well-explored medium. Hutter grew up in an intellectual environment in Illinois, the son of University Professors. His father was a clinical psychologist and his mother was a linguist. After changing his major from sociology to fine arts while at at Illinois State University, he assisted Joel Meyers, David Huchtausen, Michael Meilhan and Jim Harmon in the glass studio there. He attended several glass conferences as a student at the Pilchuck Glass Center, and has received degrees from Illlinois State University, Normal, Ill., the Mass College of Art, Boston, the Lowell Institute of MIT, Cambridge. James Yood has said of Hutter’s work, “His…work has a lot of levels, and it speaks to the continual power of the tradition of the vessel shape, the craft of cold working in contemporary glass, and sculpture as both volumetric and spatial. All this seems to support what seems his surest gift, a kind of alertness of color, a way of building it up, tweaking it out, moving it slow or fast, being sequentially patient or throwing logic to the wind, acting incredibly subtly or unfailingly bold, all in horizontal slices of glass that build his argument layer by layer.” Sculptures by Sidney Hutter can be found in many private and public collections, including the American Craft Museum, New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Design, New York, the Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC., the Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, the Museum of Fine arts in Boston, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the White House Craft Collection, Washington DC. In speaking of his own artistic goals, Hutter says: “It's a real hard thing to become an artist. You have to have some skill, some talent, some perserverence, some vision…You also have to have some luck…Life starts putting road blocks up and you have to have a clear vision, not necessarily to a goal but to a path along the way…That’s where I am. I gain energy from my work.” One collector has said of Hutter: “Never have I met anyone who is more dedicated to his craft, more conscious of the integrity of the creative process, more singular in his artistic vision.”
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Staff Pick of the Month: |
“Cubic Heart Vase” by Sidney Hutter To view this piece, click here. This month the choice was difficult because we have received so many new works for our busy summer season. In the end, we picked Sidney Hutter’s extraordinary “Cubic Heart Vase.” Here are our reasons for that choice: JIM SCHANTZ, GALLERY CO-DIRECTOR: MARY CHILDS, GALLERY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: KENN HOLSTEN, GALLERY OWNER-DIRECTOR: To view this piece, click here.
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Upcoming Events: |
June 14-August 24: “Myth, Object, and the Animal,” Installations by William Morris. Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA. June-August: Stockbridge Glass Invitational (25 leading artists). July 11-13: Glass Lovers’ Weekend, Contemporary Glass Center of American (CGCA), Wheaton Village, Millville, NJ. Biennial glass symposium and exhibition. Holsten Galleries wil present two one-person shows of Christopher Ries and Lino Tagliapietra. For further information call CGCA at 856-825-6800. October 16-19: SOFA-CHICAGO. Holsten Galleries will present two major one-person exhibitions by Dale Chihuly and Lino Tagliapietra.
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We Are Here to Serve You |
At Holsten Galleries, we pride ourselves in the personalized service we offer collectors around the world. No matter what your level of expertise, we can provide you with whatever information you need to make informed choices. The best way to work with us is to give us a call during business hours, Eastern Time. Our number in Massachusetts is 413-298-3044. You can also email us at artglass@HolstenGalleries.com or use our handy form, We look forward to working with you.
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