Suasta

Notice of Upcoming Content and Access Change

The Museum is working on the future of our online collections access. A new version will be available later in 2023. During this transition period, the current version of the Collections Browser may have reduced functionality and data may be not be updated. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. For any questions or concerns, please contact us.

What is AAT?

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More

Object Name: 
Sculpture
Title: 
Suasta
Accession Number: 
2003.3.12
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 71.5 cm, W: 82.2 cm, D: 62 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
1998
Credit Line: 
Gift of Barry Friedman Ltd., New York
Web Description: 
This group of multimedia sculptures [2003.3.3, 2003.3.11, 2003.3.12, 2003.3.2] was commissioned for the 1998 “Venezia Aperto Vetro” exhibition in Venice, Italy. The title is taken from the biblical phrase “for everything there is a season,” which in Italian is translated “ogni cosa ha la sua stagione.” Meitner titled the individual sculptures by breaking up the Italian words differently: hence, ognico, sahala, suasta, gione. The title of this suite of sculptures was chosen because the theme of the 1998 “Aperto Vetro” was “the four seasons,” a traditional subject in graphics and decorative arts and evocative of the music of the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Although the respective coloring of the four works was intended to evoke each of the four seasons, the subject meant little to Meitner, who, in his customary manner, endowed the pieces with their own obscure meanings. The blown and flameworked elements of the sculptures were made by Edwin Dieperink, the found furnace-worked flower was made by Fabio Fornasier, and the enameled and decal-decorated glass tiles were made by Meitner. Ognico, the white monkey, evokes winter; Sahala, the seated figure wearing a pointed hat and offering a tray of Venetian sweets, implies spring; Suasta, the bird on a branch beneath a goblet, suggests summer; and Gione, the headless figure with claw feet, covered in rust, refers to fall.
Series: 
For Everything There Is a Season
Provenance: 
Barry Friedman Ltd., Former Collection
2003-01-20
Category: 
Primary Description: 
Sculpture, "Suasta (For Everything There Is a Season)". Flameworked and blown borosilicate glass, gold leaf, enameled, water; cut glass tiles mounted on wood, enameled, decal transfers. Colorless glass figure of a man, filled with green colored water, sitting atop a wooden base covered with glass tiles. Man is wearing an opaque white hat and holding a plate decorated with gold foil and filled with small lampworked items such as dogs, fruit, and candy.
Masters of Studio Glass: Richard Craig Meitner
Venue(s)
Museum of Glass 2010-07-17 through 2011-06-19
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass
West Bridge Exhibit
 
Venezia Aperto Vetro
Glass with Class: The Corning Museum of Glass (2009-07) illustrated, p. 14, second from left; BIB# AI98002
Barry Friedman Gives 44 Works to The Corning Museum of Glass (2004) illustrated, pp. 80-81; BIB# AI63127
The Corning Museum of Glass Annual Report 2003 (2004) illustrated, p. 18; BIB# AI93746
Richard Meitner (2001) pl. 63-65; BIB# 70404