Endeavor (513)
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. To some viewers, this installation recalls a flock of birds or a school of fish, or the forms simply represent vivid strokes of color.
Tagliapietra has had a lasting impact on American studio glassblowing. Born on the island of Murano, he worked as an apprentice in the island’s glass factories, where he earned the title of maestro. In 1979, he traveled for the first time to the United States, which was the beginning of his international career and collaborations with noted European and American artists.
Purchased in honor of James R. Houghton with funds from Corning Incorporated and gifts from the Ennion Society, The Carbetz Foundation Inc., James B. Flaws and Marcia D. Weber, Maisie Houghton, Polly and John Guth, Mr. and Mrs. Carl H. Pforzheimer III, Wendell P. Weeks and Kim Frock, Alan and Nancy Cameros, The Honorable and Mrs. Amory Houghton Jr., E. Marie McKee and Robert Cole Jr., Robert and Elizabeth Turissini, Peter and Cathy Volanakis, and Lino Tagliapietra and the Heller Gallery, New York.