Murano glass vases by Thomas Stearns: A „funny bird“ leaves its mark

Foreign artists, including those from the United States, were employed as designers by the renowned Venini glassworks even before the American artist Thomas Stearns. Yet only a few are as memorable as Stearns, who took his first steps with three-dimensional objects at Venini at the beginning of the 1960s, in the world of Murano glass of all things. His unconventional approach did not immediately generate enthusiasm.

Even the first designs and models that Stearns presented to master glassblower Arturo Biasutto "Boboli" were met with strong disapproval met with strong disapproval due to their significant disparities from the usual standard. The main reason for this was Stearns‘ departure from the symmetry typical of Venini. Stearns was therefore quickly perceived as a troublemaker who, with his ideas, lack of language skills and perceived lack of understanding of Murano glass as such, was not welcome.  It was only on the initiative of the youngest master glassblower at Venini, Boboli’s pupil Francesco "Checco" Ongaro, that Thomas Stearns was given a chance to realise his ideas.

Subsequently, Stearns remained more of an outsider at Venini. Nevertheless, he learned how to work with Murano glass, although he continued not to use it in the classic style. Instead, he combined traditional materials and techniques with motifs from Abstract Expressionism, which was emerging in the USA, and created pieces that are still impressive today, including works using the “Incalmo” technique. Despite recurring differences of opinion, pieces from the collaboration with "Checco" Ongaro have survived and achieved impressive results at auctions in the past. Stearns‘ three-part conceptual sculpture "La Sentinella di Venezia" (The Guardian of Venice) from 1962, for example, was auctioned for 737,000 dollars in 1982.

In addition to the results of his work at Venini, Stearns‘ working methods also significantly influenced the development of the previously strictly traditional distribution of roles. With his habit of being present at the kiln, Stearns changed the relationship and the dynamic between design and craftsmanship, creating conditions from which his successors, some of whom were also American artists, also benefited.

Some famous objects created by Stearns can be found today in the "1000 Objects" collection, currently one of the world’s largest collections of glass and design, owned by Swiss collector Peter Grünbaum. These include unique examples of the then-revolutionary work from the series "Facciate di venezia" (Facade of Venice), a series of 10 objects that Stearns said had "a special meaning" for him (Thomas Stearns, 2002).

Currently for sale in the Online store of the collection are a total of nine objects by Thomas Stearns. The passionate collector and Murano glass enthusiast Peter Grünbaum will be happy to answer any questions about these and all other objects in the unique collection.

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