Lino Tagliapietra
Maestro Glass Blower

Lino at Pilchuck Glass School

Lino Tagliapietra was born on the island of Murano (Italy) in 1934, and began his career alongside Archimede Seguso as an apprentice. That was when he was 11, and by age 21 he was a maestro. Today he is considered among the finest glass blowers in the world.

Lino is known for his excellence in craftsmanship and his ability to bring together the best of classic and contemporary design. He is also known for his friendliness and his willingness to teach and experiment with glass.

In recent decades with the resurgence of art glass movements he has been both teacher and student, sharing Italian secrets while stretching his bounds through collaboration with movement artists.

See below for some books about Lino, and he has his own web page now: http://www.linotagliapietra.com

EXCLUSIVE! Great photos of Lino at work
By Ryan Crase
This "Batman" piece from the Habatat Galleries in Pontiac Michigan. After the fine multi-colored canes are applied, the 'wings' are pulled out. When the piece cools, cold-working (grinding) exposes the colors within the cane. Every stage is an especially difficult technique.
The William Traver Gallery has an excellent page with details about Lino's awards, exhibitions, teaching positions, and related publications.
Pictured: "Dinosaur" (2005) 27.5"h x 12.5"w x 7.25"d
Lino created this piece for Pilchuck Glass School's 20th Annual Auction in 1998.
Collaborating with Dale Chihuly and experimenting with design, the Venetian series was born. Dale draws then Lino calls out a few orders and crafts the piece.

Dale Chihuly speaks about Lino and the Venetian pieces (RealVideo).

Schantz Galleries takes over where Holsten Galleries left off.
Ikebana - Ben Moore organized the teams for this Chihuly series with Lino as the maestro. More. RealVideo.
A very pretty blue 'Spiral' piece.
From the private collection of A. D. Copier!
PiezoUnico 1987 at Effetre International

[Many thanks to the private collector that contributed this photo]

Books from Amazon.com

"LINO TAGLIAPIETRA - vetri glass verres glas"
[Giovanni Sarpellon, 1st edition 1994, 159 pages]
A 4 page introduction (each) in Italian, English, French & German, and photos of 91 works from 1981 through 1993 with a short description of each. VERY NICE!
"TAGLIAPIETRA: A Venetian Glass Maestro"
[Lino Tagliapietra / Marino Barovier, 1st edition 1998, 107 pages]
This book consists mostly of photographs of about 100 works from the period of 1995-1998. A short introduction and biography are included. GREAT!
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