Hot for Glass! Contemporary Glass from L.A. Collections

Hot for Glass! Contemporary Art from L.A. Collections presents 90 works of contemporary art glass by 48 internationally known artists represented in over 20 private collections in the Los Angeles area. Organized in conjunction with the Glass Alliance of Los Angeles (GALA) as part of the 2003 California Glass Exchange hosted by Cal State Fullerton, this exhibition is not a survey. Instead, it makes its point about the vitality of current work in the glass medium by drawing on the extensive collections of GALA's collector membership and their friends.

Works range from the exquisite vessels of Dale Chilhuly and Mary Ann "Toots" Zynsky to whimsical assemblages of neon and found objects by Michael Flechntner and the powerful geometric cast glass sculpture of Howard Ben Tré. In addition, Southern California artist Therman Statom has created an installation specifically for this exhibition. Other artists are Hank Murta Adams, David Bennett, Giles Bettison, Martin Blank, Daniel Clayman, Dan Dailey, Einar & Jamex de La Torre, Michael Flechtner, Michael Glancy, Katherine Gray, David R. Huchthausen, Toshio Iezumi, Joey Kirpatrick & Flora Mace, Steve Klein, Jon Kuhn, Silvia Levenson, Stanislav Libensky & Jaroslava Brychtová, Marvin Lipofsky, Harvey K. Littleton, John Luebtow, Dante Marioni, Paul Marioni, Richard Marquis, Koichi Matsufuji, Josiah McElheny, Klaus Moje, Benjamin P. Moore, William Morris, Jay P. Musler, Joel Philip Myers, Clifford Rainey, Seth Randal, David Reekie, Ginny Ruffner, Livio Seguso, Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend, Lino Tagliapietra, Karla Tinkley, Bertil Vallien, Frantisek Vizner, Jack Wax, Steven Weinberg, Ann Wolff (a.k.a Ann Warff) and Dana Zamecnikova.

Anne Cohen, current GALA president, comments that "members of the Glass Alliance of Los Angeles hope that this exhibition will ignite interest and will educate [the viewer] about how contemporary studio glass art has evolved to where it is now—from the vessels of the late '60s to contemporary sculpture…."

Work in the exhibition is viewed from several perspectives: "History," an homage to the pioneers of the contemporary glass movement; "Content," which is labeled "politics, justice and poetry;" "Form/Manner," including figurative, sculpture/abstraction; and "Beyond Tradition," the vessel revisited and defining the elements of style in contemporary glass.