Steven Weinberg

Steven Weinberg is an American glass artist that is seen as an innovator and leader in the world of cast glass. Born in New York City, New York in 1954, he received his bachelor’s degree at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University 1976 and his master’s degree at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1979. Much of the technology for casting glass did not exist when he started out his career, so he designed and invented techniques and machinery that he and many other artists in the field of glass now use today.

Originally recruited by Dale Chihuly to join his graduate program at the Rhode Island School of Design, Weinberg went on to create an innovative portfolio of sculptural crystal spanning multiple decades. Weinberg was driven to innovate and destined to develop his own unique style and aesthetic. Stout determination and an individualistic passion to follow the road less traveled led Weinberg to diverge from the smoother and gentler path of many contemporaries to explore the heavier sides of life and the thickness of crystal.  Eschewing the colorful free form blown glass embodied in the work of Chihuly and most of his students, Weinberg was drawn to more pure geometries and the interplay between interior spaces and solid crystal. Diligently working in his original Pawtucket studio and pioneering the development of novel processes and materials, Weinberg hit his stride. His technical virtuosity and expressive detail would earn him a lasting place in the American Studio Glass Movement.

Early pieces, such as the "Puzzle Pieces" displayed in the portfolio section of this site, showcase his intuitive understanding of complicated arrangements and command of casting technique. His subsequent body of work, the cubes, explored the use of veiling, detailed mill work, and encapsulated bubbles to create vivid interior landscapes frozen inside solid masses of optical crystal. His interest in water forms and sea themes inspired his next important series of boat forms and buoys. The buoys, less glassy, but more earthy and ceramic like, recall his original love of clay. They reflect the dual nature of the artist and his steady defiance to follow anything that would seem too trendy. An artist who lived a hard, risk torn life, Weinberg imbued many later works with impressions of juxtaposed life lessons in his Icon series. Gorgeous shapes floating in solid house forms, these works are at once dreamlike and classical. The newest work is a push towards modern adaptations accrued in a lifetime of experience and display the love of clean geometry that has always been central to his work. Rising spheres have multiplied and become a metaphor for a relentless pursuit of excellence.

For Weinberg, his art has always been about a way to gain control over his environment; through the process of making objects, he is able to set parameters and make sense of space, whereas his day-to-day life borders on unmanageable chaos. He finds peace in the process of making art juxtaposed to the uncertainty of everyday living. It is within this dichotomy that he achieves a sense of balance, of organization, even if it is fleeting, and unsustainable. He manages to achieve harmony within a world that has spun out of control.  

Steven's work is represented around the world in the permanent collections of over thirty museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Museedes Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre in Paris; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; and the LA County Museum in Los Angeles. He has also received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including Honorary Prize from the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan.