ABOUT MARVIN LIPOFSKY - ARTIST BIO
(September 1, 1938 – January 15, 2016)
Lipofsky was not only one of the most prolific glass artists ever, he was also one of the first. Blown glass art as we know it is a shockingly new medium, it is quite literally still evolving every day. It has only existed in the form that we know it since the 1970's, and Lipofsky was right there at it's conception.
In 1970, when the glass movement was still largely underground, Marvin was invited to work at the Nuutajärvi Glass Factory in Finland. As he watched the workers blowing glass into molds, he observed the "overblow," a superfluous part that is extruded during the process of blowing the glass into the mold. He remarked: “The afterblow [overblow] that came out the top was always very interesting, very sensual and organic, but of course they would cut this off.” He decided to incorporate the "overblow" into his sculpture. The Suomi-Finland Series 1970 was the result of this work in the factory, and one of the first organic fluid series of blown glass sculptures.
Until recently, Lipofsky still traveled around the world to lecture, assist, and blow glass. To work with Lipofsky was a true honor.
Young Lipofsky, 1968:
Blenko Glass Factory in Milton, West Virginia
Lipofsky in 2006: Invited to participate in the 250th Anniversary Symposium of Gus-Khrustanly Glass Factory in Russia.
Lipofsky's works are over 100 collections including:
-Museum of Arts and Design (American Craft Museum; Museum of Contemporary Crafts), New York, New York
-Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
-Oakland Museum of California (Oakland Art Museum), Oakland, California
-San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco Museum of Art), San Francisco, California
-Musee D'Art Contemporain, Skopje, Yugoslavia
-The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
-National Museum of Glass, Leerdam, Holland
-Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Holland
-Stedelijke Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
-Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland
-Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York
-Museum Für Kunsthandwek, Frankfurt, Germany
-Kunsthaus AM Museum, Koln, Germany
-Kunstsammlungen Der Veste Coburg, Coburg, Germany
-Musee de Design ET D'Arts Appliques/Contemporains (Musee des Arts Decoratifs) Lausanne, Switzerland
-The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
-Umeleckoprumyslove Muzeum, Prague, Czechoslovakia
-St. Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, Missouri
-Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
-The Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan
-Musee des Arts Decoratifs (Fonds National d'Art Contemporin) Paris, France
-Hokkaido Government Prefectury, Sapparo, Japan
-Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania
-International Glass Symposium Collection, Crystalex, Novy Bor, Czech Republic, 1982 II; 1985 III; 1988 IV; 1991 V; 1994 VI; 1997 VII 2000; Crystalex, A.S./Lemberk Castle
-Zsolnay Museum, Pecs, Hungary
-Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
-Museum of Decorative Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria
-Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
-All-Russia Decorative, Applied and Folk Art Museum, Moscow, Russia
-National Museum in Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
-Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada
-The Hsinchu Cultural Center, Hsinchu, Taiwan
-The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
-Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
-Museum of Applied Arts, Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia
-Museo del Vidrio, La Granja, Spain
-Museo Del Vidrio, Monterrey, N.L. Mexico
-Musée Du Québec, Québec City, Québec, Canada
-Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois
-Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
-Tacoma Museum, Tacoma, Washington
Awards and Honors:
-1974/76: National Endowment for the Arts, Fellowship
-1983: Honorific Prize, Viconiter '83 1 st International Exhibit of Contemporary Glass, Valencia, Spain
-1986: Honorary Life Member, Glass Art Society, Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California
-1989: Distinguished Graduate Award for Outstanding Achievement in Art, Barrington High School, Barrington, Illinois
-1991: College of Fellows, The American Craft Council, New York, New York
-2002: Honorary Award for Inspiration and Instigation of the Bay Area Glass Community, California Glass Exchange, San Jose, California
-2003: Master of the Medium Award, James Renwick Alliance, Washington, D.C.
-2005: Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass 2005 Artist Award
Additionally, Marvin has conducted over 300 lectures and workshops internationally.