LOCAL COLOR: SECRETS OF STEUBEN GLASS

CMoG is showcasing Carder Steuben glass in a new exhibit called Local Color: Secrets of Steuben Glass, as they dismantle the Frederick Carder Gallery for the StudioNext project.  Some of you were able to attend the new exhibit opening via ZOOM or in person. We are happy to share that Amy Hughes, who curated this exhibit along with Mieke Fay advising the Junior Curators, will be joining us to discuss the exhibit during our symposium.

Local Color: Secrets of Steuben Glass examines the talent of European and local artisans, glassworkers, glass decorators, and women who helped realize Carder’s vision for Steuben.  It showcases the early history of the Steuben Glass Works, founded in Corning, NY, in 1903, and the dazzling variety of glass Steuben developed in the early 20th century.  Under the artistic leadership of Frederick Carder, a community of European immigrant expert glassworkers, local artisans, and women were recruited to realize his artistic vision — which included developing over 100 new glass colors and hundreds of designs in a variety of forms and styles.

In this exhibition, visitors will see examples of Carder’s most famous and rare glass colors (including Gold and Blue Aurene, Tyrian, and Rouge Flambé), learn about specific Steuben European glassmakers and the specialized glass techniques they championed, examine original sketches of designs and recipes for glassmaking, and view a rarely-exhibited hanging glass and metal Art Deco lighting fixture.  Visitors will also learn about the kinds of work women did at Steuben and will be invited to add to our understanding of women’s roles at Steuben by sharing stories of women they know who may have worked at Steuben in generations past.

Local Color: Witnessing Carder in a New Hue, a companion exhibition developed by the Museum’s Junior Curators, considers the use of color in early Steuben from the perspective of today’s youth.  The 2023 Junior Curators have worked in tandem to organize this exhibition, for which they have been tasked with researching Frederick Carder and his luminous glass color recipes.  Some interpretive queries the Junior Curators have investigated include:  Who was Carder’s primary target market?  Did he have a specific vision or mission for his glass works?  How did the color recipes differ, and what was hard to accomplish?  What was his design process, and did he think of the color before he thought of form?                  

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: AMY J. HUGHES

Amy J. Hughes, Ph.D., joined the Corning Museum of Glass as Assistant Curator at the Corning Glass Museum in October 2022 where she assists in the exhibition planning, research and maintenance of the Museum’s collections. Her specialization is 19th- and 20th-century Central European glass, art and visual culture, with a focus on the intersections between dissent, trauma and modernism in postwar Central European glass.  Prior to her move to Corning in fall 2022, Hughes was based in Prague, Czech Republic for several years while researching and completing her dissertation on Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová’s monumental public sculptures made in the 1970s. Her research was generously supported by national fellowships and grants, including the Fulbright, Dedalus, Mellon–Wisconsin and FLAS Fellowships; the Corning Museum of Glass Rakow Grant for Glass Research and the Czech Academy of Sciences.  While in Prague, Hughes also worked at the Institute of Art History, Czech Academy of Sciences, as part of the research team cataloguing, exhibiting, and generating publications about the Academy’s collection of photographs of Czech photographer, Josef Sudek.

Hughes holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Culture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.A. in the History of Design, Decorative Arts and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center and a B.A. in French and Political Science from Marquette University.  Previously, she held positions at Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection and has taught and lectured on art and glass history classes in the United States, France and the Czech Republic. 

WE HAVE A LANGNIAPPE TOO!

AUCTION ITEMS NEEDED

We are soliciting items for an auction to be held during the Symposium that will benefit the Carder Steuben Glass Association.  You may wish to donate or consign Carder Steuben glass, post-Carder Steuben glass, glass of the same era, or glass with relevance Corning.  Other items like books, New York State wine, or Frederick Carder items also make great auction entries. Please send item descriptions to President@steubenglass.org.  If you are attending the Symposium you may bring the items with you, or they may be shipped to:

Scott Coots

c/o The Source Ltd

2147 West Ridge Road

Rochester, NY 14626

The Carder Steuben Glass Association is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and you will receive a tax receipt for your donation.  Thank you for your support!