Wine glass c. 1920

This wine glass was made anonymously, at an unknown date, but it resides now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The most striking thing about this glass is that it is almost entirely colorless. It makes me think about the way we see and the way we drink. Consider the almost imperceptible blush of the glass, and the way it seems to have tiny flecks of shimmer caught inside. When I zoom in on the bulbous knot of glass between the bowl and the stem, I see what looks like twisted ribbons, pulled and pinched. It makes me think of all the pushing and pulling that goes into an artwork. I’m reminded of the colorless glass sculptures of Larry Bell, who also shares a similar interest in light, space, and perception. Like painting, glassblowing is a process, a collaboration between intention and chance, that leaves its trace in the final form. The end result is always something of a happy accident.