Lino Tagliapietra, Endeavor.
The Columbus Museum of Art has acquired Lino Tagliapietra’s glass installation Endeavor, an astounding and luminous work that magically captures Lino’s love of glass. This armada of thirty-five boats suspended from the ceiling has become an iconic part of the Museum’s collection.
The purchase was made possible through the generosity of Museum donors, with a lead gift from Geraldine Schottenstein Hoffman. Additional support provided by Tom Davis and Anonymous, Pamela and Jack Beeler Family, Loann W. Crane, Howard Fradkin and Peter Kengeter, Barry Friedman and and Susanne Cobey Friedman, Fishel Foundation, Beth Loew, D. Scott Owens and Kevin J. Kowalski, Louise and Lake Polan, Stephen and Orlene Shimberg, Nannette and Sandy Solomon, Clarke and Sara Jean Wilhelm, and Jane H. Zimmerman.
Endeavor, on loan from the artist, featured prominently in CMA’s newly installed galleries when CMA unveiled its renovated building to the public on January 1, 2011. Endeavor was first displayed at CMA in 2003 as part of the traveling retrospective exhibition Concerto in Glass: The Art of Lino Tagliapietra organized by the Museum. Inspired by the annual Festival of Saints, a city-wide ceremony that symbolizes Venice’s connection to the sea, Endeavor was an instant hit with CMA visitors and has become a beloved part of the Museum’s “great experiences.” Lino was born in 1934 on the island of Murano, a locus of glassblowing whose history dates back to 1291. At the age of twelve, Lino apprenticed with the glass master Archimede Seguso. Nine years later, at the age of twenty-one, he earned the rank of maestro (master).
For the next twenty-five years, Lino worked in association with a number of Murano’s top glass factories, including Vetreria Galliano Ferro, Venini & Cie, La Murrina, Effretre Int’l., and EOS Design nel Vetro. His influence on the American art glass studio movement is primarily attributed to his collaborations with Dale Chihuly. In 1968, Chihuly visited Murano and studied with Lino as well as other glass masters. In 1979, Lino traveled to America to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State where he shared invaluable knowledge about glassblowing techniques that previously had been guarded trade secrets. In the 1980s, Lino entered into the studio artist world after over a decade of traveling, teaching, and working with studio artists worldwide. Today he is acknowledged as one of the leading masters of the contemporary art glass movement.
Source: Columbus Museum of Art
