Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925–2008) With the assistance of Daniel Spitzer and Dan Dailey United States, Brooklyn, New York Designed in 1997 and made in 2005 Mold-blown glass, cold-worked; silver-plated steel tire carrier H: 78.7 cm, W: 68.5 cm, D: 29.2 cm (2007.4.5) Rauschenberg is an internationally acclaimed artist who came to prominence in the 1950s. Interested equally in abstraction and in popular culture, he was one of an early group of Pop artists who changed the course of modern art.

Stanislav Libenský (Czech, 1921–2002) and Jaroslava Brychtová (Czech, b. 1924) Czechoslovakia, Železný Brod Designed in 1978 and made in 1980 Mold-melted glass, cut; steel structure H: 222 cm, W: 225.9 cm (80.3.13) Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová pioneered, explored, developed, and defined glass as a medium for contemporary sculpture. The career in glass of this husband-and-wife team spanned more than 45 years. Their art explores ideas about light, color, space, and transparency.

Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, b. 1934) United States, Seattle, Washington 2004 Blown and hot-worked glass, cut, battuto-cut; steel cable Dimensions variable ( 2005.4.170 ) A sense of weightlessness characterizes this installation of 18 boatlike forms. Inspired by the sight of the many gondolas that gather at the entrance to the Venetian lagoon on the feast day of the Ascension of the Virgin, Lino Tagliapietra imagined the colorful wooden boats as abstract shapes floating in space.

Dale Chihuly (American, b. 1941) United States, Seattle, Washington 2000 Blown glass; steel structure H: 335.3 cm; W: 228.6 cm (2000.4.6) Dale Chihuly is a celebrated personality in contemporary art and design whose prominence in the field of studio glass is unmatched. From the beginning of his involvement with glass in the 1960s, Chihuly has focused on the sculptural qualities of the material, using the blown vessel as a vehicle for the exploration of color and form.

Hollow Torso Clifford Rainey (British, b. Northern Ireland, 1948) United States, Oakland, California 1997 Cast glass, cut, assembled H: 101.6 cm, W: 62 cm, D: 35.5 cm (2001.4.19) Omagh Clifford Rainey (British, b. Northern Ireland, 1948) United States, Oakland, California 2001 Cast glass, cut; metal mount H: 71 cm, W: 36 cm, D: 30 cm (2006.4.60) Clifford Rainey uses the human torso as a sculptural vehicle to address the body and time.

Katherine Gray (Canadian, b. 1965) United States, Los Angeles, California 2009 Glass; acrylic, steel; about 2,000 found drinking glasses Tallest section: H: 289.6 cm, W: 160 cm, D: 76.2 cm (2010.4.49) Katherine Gray is a glassblower and an artist who makes functional and nonfunctional vessels and sculpture. Her installation consists of three “trees” made of everyday drinking glasses stacked on Plexiglas shelves with steel supports.

Beth Lipman (American, b. 1971) United States, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Brooklyn, New York 2008 Blown glass; silicone; wood table H: 175.3 cm, W: 114.3 cm, D: 106.7 cm (2010.4.43) Blown glass vessels inevitably create associations with vases, drinking glasses, and containers, and it is difficult to deny the functionality of these forms. Beth Lipman does not try to alter her traditional forms or to bypass their function. Instead, she creates new meanings and contexts for them.

Flora C. Mace (American, b. 1949) and Joey Kirkpatrick (American, b. 1952) United States, Seattle, Washington 2000 Blown glass; carved and painted alderwood bowl H: 69.5 cm, Bowl Diam: 116.7 cm (2002.4.2) Joey Kirkpatrick, a painter, and Flora Mace, a sculptor, share a passion for glassblowing, and they have spent more than 30 years creating vessels and sculpture in wood and glass.

A major development of the Studio Glass movement has been the use of glass for large-scale sculpture and installations. Since 1980, there has also been a dramatic increase in the size of objects and vessels made of glass. The Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery of Contemporary Glass demonstrates the different ways in which glass is used as a medium for contemporary art. The display focuses on unique objects rather than limited-edition or mass-produced works.

After 1900, fine art and design experienced radical changes. This was especially true for glass, as artists and designers explored unconventional approaches to the material and developed new techniques to shape it. From Art Nouveau to American studio glass, glass has been used in art, craft, and design in innovative ways.