The work of Italian glass maestro Ermanno Nason (1928 – 2013) defies easy categorisation. During his seven-decade career, Nason collaborated with some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Jean Arp and Max Ernst, translating their distinctive styles into captivating glass works.
Nason also became one of the 20th century’s most celebrated and sought-after glassmakers in his own right. His ability to mine from a wide range of styles, techniques and sources across millennia is what sets him apart in the story of glass. It was also a relentless approach to experimentation, unwavering vision and stellar command of his medium that led Nason to innovate new techniques and cement his legacy as a key innovator in the history of glassmaking.
(Text: Dan Tolson)