Although the Blenko Glass Company was founded in 1893, it wasn’t until 1921 that they realized their true talent lay not in stained glass windows but in the vibrant and radical colors and sculptural designs of vases, bowls and bottles. The Blenko family eventually cornered the market with their radical interpretations of the vessel, opening the door to the American art glass movement of the sixties and seventies.
In the forties Blenko Glass expanded its venerable reputation as a purveyor of boldly colorful glass tableware into that of one of the most forward-thinking firms in America. The first glass factory to hire a designer to produce unique, hand-blown pieces, Blenko became famous for its sculptural glass forms. They set themselves conspicuously apart with their commitment to non-functional decorative art glass.
Moving beyond the world of the traditional glass vessel and into that of the sculptural object, star designers like Winslow Anderson, Wayne Husted and Joel Phillip Myers excelled at making glass for the sake of art.
R Gallery is pleased to feature the largest and most comprehensive collection of Blenko glass ever to be exhibited in New York. Each bottle represents a unique exploration of the craft, and the wide range of classic fifties and sixties colors, shapes and sizes.
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