“This exhibition of new projects showcases over 30 international artists who have created works in glass in collaboration with the master glass artisans at Berengo Studio on the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon. Glasstress Boca Raton 2021 is a sequel to the acclaimed 2016 Glasstress exhibition at Boca Raton Museum of Art and includes new major works created since that time. A fully-illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

Some of the world’s leading contemporary artists were invited to breathe new life into centuries-old glassmaking in Venice ― maestros of glassblowing from the legendary Berengo Studio residency help artists manifest their visions” ― Boca Raton Museum of Art

“There is every reason this year to have a world view,” says Irvin Lippman, the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s Executive Director, as South Florida boldly ushers in the New Year with the national premiere of Glasstress 2021 Boca Raton. “Three years in the making, with 2020 being such a challenging year to coordinate an international exhibition of this size and scope, the effort serves as an important reassurance that art is an essential and enduring part of humanity. This is also a tribute to the resilience of Venice’s surviving the floods and continuing to make art through the pandemic.” 

Most of these works in glass have never been seen elsewhere, and were handpicked by Kathleen Goncharov, the Museum’s Senior Curator who traveled to Italy in 2019.

Ai Weiwei, Fred Wilson, Joyce J. Scott, Jimmie Durham, Ugo Rondinone, Fiona Banner, Vik Muniz, Monica Bonvicini, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Laure Prouvost, Renate Bertlmann, Thomas Schütte, Loris Gréaud, and Erwin Wurm are among the 34 artists in the exhibition. Most of these artists have represented their countries at the Venice Biennale.

Images courtesy Boca Raton Museum of Art.