Lino Tagliapietra in Retrospect: A Modern Renaissance in Glass is currently on exhibit at the Renwick Gallery in DC until Jan. 11, 2009. I saw this show last weekend and it is absolutely gorgeous. Tagliapietra uses a variety of techniques (laying color on color, cutting back into layers, carving "holes", caning) to create his luminous, organic pieces. You can clearly see how his style matured as you move through the exhibit. A few pieces just try to do too much, using too many techniques and overlapping too many colors, creating works that just don't have the panache of others. This is to be expected as he experimented quite a bit and thank goodness for it. A few pieces seem to be displayed backwards (their "backsides" are more intriguing then the front) so make sure to view the work from all angles. This is one not to be missed.
