Contemporary Glass

A broad category for glassmakers working roughly from the 1990s to present. Although humans have been making glass by hand for millennia, by the mid-20th century most glassware was created industrially, especially in the United States. The Studio Glass Movement, founded by Harvey Littleton in 1962, changed all this by emphasizing the artistic possibilities of the medium. Through mastery of technical knowledge and innovative techniques, glassmakers were to take on the role of the artist, developing novel forms and creative applications. Contemporary glassmakers working today are indebted to this legacy, and some of them, like Josiah McElheny or Dale Chihuly, continue to blur the line between art and design.