For those of you interested in glass, there are several excellent exhibitions occurring across the country right now.

Corning N.Y.: “Glass of the Maharajahs” Corning Museum of Glass, Corning NY now through November 30, 2006

“Visitors to ‘Glass of the Maharajahs’ will experience that same sense of bedazzlement. The exhibition examines a little-known chapter of design history, when European glass manufacturers tailored one-of-a-kind and limited-production glass furniture to the tastes of the wealthy Indian elite.

Among the highlights of “Glass of the Maharajahs” will be a unique 11-foot-tall mirrored and intricately faceted glass wall cabinet, on public view in the United States for the first time. There will be massive chandeliers, side tables, chairs, a towering candelabrum, and even a crystal and horsehair fly whisk. Also on view will be detailed design drawings, printed catalogs, copies of period advertisements, and historical photographs of palace interiors.”

Sounds like an absolute NIGHTMARE to transport – I’d like to go if only to admire all the work that went into setting up the exhibit!

Dallas Texas: Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artist for the Ages , The Dallas Museum of Art, now through September 3, 2006

“The first comprehensive touring exhibition and examination of Tiffany’s work in the United States in decades, featuring more than 120 works including selections of the artist’s classic stained-glass windows and Tiffany lamps. The exhibition will present new material and ideas in a fresh way, emphasizing the beauty inherent in Tiffany’s art.”

Seattle Washington “A Transparent Legacy: Studio Glass Gifted to SAM from the Collection of Jon and Mary Shirley” Seattle Asian Art Museum North Galleries, Through October 15, 2006

“Jon and Mary Shirley’s generous gift of 117 works of studio glass has transformed SAM’s collection. This exhibition marks the public debut of a selection of these remarkable objects, which date from 1915 to the present day. The focus of the collection is work by artists of the 1970s through the 1990s, when the Pilchuck Glass School became a world center for the creative development of glass and a place of exciting dialogue between international artists. Among the approximately forty artists whose work is represented are Pilchuck founder Dale Chihuly, Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, Dante Marioni, Richard Marquis, William Morris, Etsuko Nishi, Ginny Ruffner, Preston Singletary, and Lino Tagliapietra. This exhibition highlights techniques ranging from blown glass to cast glass, flameworked glass, sandblasted glass and zanfirico glass, in a celebration of artists who brought distinction to the Northwest—a national and international center for this medium.”