The Corning Museum of Glass will present an unprecedented survey of work by the groundbreaking female artist Toots Zynsky. A pioneer of the studio glass movement, Zynsky draws from the traditions of painting, sculpture and the decorative arts to inspire her innovative, intricate vessels. The exhibition, Masters of Studio Glass: Toots Zynsky, will feature 12 works representing the varied techniques and inspirations from throughout Zynsky’s career, and will be on view at The Corning Museum of Glass from April 2, 2011, through January 29, 2012.
Zynsky attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she was one of acclaimed artist Dale Chihuly’s first students. In 1971, she was part of a group of Chihuly’s friends and RISD students who founded the influential Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. There, she made installations of slumped plate glass, and later experimented with video and performance work with artist Buster Simpson, incorporating hot and cold glass. This experimental work was critical to the development of using glass as a material to explore issues in contemporary art.
The exhibition is part of the Corning Museum’s ongoing Masters of Studio Glass series that was developed to provide a platform for in-depth surveys of a range of artists represented in the Museum’s permanent collection. Masters of Studio Glass: Toots Zynsky will also feature seminal works commissioned by the Museum in 1988 as part of its annual Rakow Commission, and an unusually large vessel commissioned in 2005 by Chicago collectors, and Corning Museum benefactors, Ben and Natalie Heineman.
Located in the heart of the Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State, the Museum is open daily, year-round. Kids and teens, 19 and under, receive free admission. The Corning Museum of Glass is conveniently located directly off I-86/Rte. 17, mid-way between Niagara Falls and New York City.
www.cmog.org