Chapter 9
Glass As Fine Art
Through the work of a brilliant man and genius, Dale
C h a h u l y , glass has recently become the newest media
officially recognized by the fine arts world. You may have
seen several Dale Chahuly exhibits on TV showcasing his
tremendous chandeliers. But it has been mostly through his
museum exhibitions by which he has single handedly pulled
glass from craft to fine art.
Now you see glass artworks appearing in local
galleries, which normally would not have carried them.
Because this media is rather new to the art world there are
several notes of caution. Glass is a type of media with a
very wide range of prices and not intrinsically something of
This also makes it much more
incredible value.
susceptible to interpretation and heavily dependant
on the artist reputation.
The economy of glass values is becoming stable but
still finds itself in a stage of infancy and discord. For
example, there are works coming from glass artists in
Romania, Czechoslovakia, and China with stunning effects
and hypnotizing detail, signed by the piece's authentic
artist. You will find these items priced under one hundred
dollars and toping off somewhere around two thousand
dollars. Depending on the size of the work, you will note
American glassblowers tend to start with values around one
thousand dollars and go up to very significant amounts.
If you're looking at a well-known artist out of Seattle
(as an example) you can expect to pay anywhere from 2 to
10 thousand dollars for significant pieces of their work. If
you're looking at a top of the line name such as Dale
Chahuly, edition pieces which are multiples of the same