Nancy Callan: Synthesizing Tradition and Innovation
Though made through an impressive command of Venetian technique, there’s something distinctly American about Nancy Callan’s glass sculpture. Perhaps it’s the humor or neoteric aesthetic on which her blown work relies. By referencing topics such as fashion and superheroes in contemporary glass sculpture that showcases multileveled textured patterns of Muranese predecessors, she has created distinctive, impactful objects that leave a lasting impression.
In the Spring 2019 edition of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly (#154), contributing editor William Warmus, wrote: “And what do I love about her work? Its athletic effortlessness and pioneering purity. The way she arrives at simple yet bold solutions to complex problems. Her crisp color sense. And the fresh ways she builds nets and webs and grids of glass cane that ensnare, entrap, and delineate the bubbles of molten glass that form her canvas. As an art historian, I’m grateful for the ways in which her work honors the venerable Venetian tradition in which it is anchored while at the same time extending that tradition in ways that are purely American.”
Callan’s artistic voice as a glass sculptor reflects her high-level training and talents. She attended the Massachusetts College of Art (BFA 1996) and lives in Seattle, Washington, where she is part of the vibrant Northwest glass community. The artist’s numerous awards include the Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship and residencies at the Museum of Glass (Tacoma, WA), The Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo, OH), the Pittsburgh Glass Center (Pittsburgh, PA), and The Chrysler Museum (Norfolk, VA). She was a key member of maestro Lino Tagliapietra’s glassblowing team for 19 years.
In addition to exhibiting and creating her own work, Callan enjoys the challenges of teaching and sharing her skills with students. She has offered advanced glassblowing workshops at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA, Haystack Mountain School in Deer Isle, ME, and Penland School of Crafts in Ashville, NC. The artist also has a history of collaborations with NYC lighting designer Lindsey Adelman, Katherine Gray and Australian artist Mel Douglas.
Callan’s artwork can be found in the permanent collections of the Shanghai Museum of Art, Shanghai, China, The Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA, the Museum of Glass, Corning, NY, the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, the Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, the Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI, and the Museum of Northwest Art, La Connor, WA, as well as in numerous private collections.
She says: “As I approach 25 years of working with glass, I am amazed at how much there still is for me to explore in the material. The quest for the perfect form matched with the ideal surface, color, or pattern is an ongoing passion. But most exciting are the new possibilities that open up through experimentation. Using the traditional techniques to create something fresh and modern is what I am most interested in right now. This approach allows me to feel grounded in the traditions of the material but also free to depart and explore the possibilities, which are indeed infinite.”
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