Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Cesare Toffolo
I am obsessed with Cesare Toffolo. Cesare is a master Venetian lamp worker and is generally considered to be the best at the craft in the entire world. Cesare was born and raised on the famous island of Murano, and can trace back glassmaking in his family lineage to the Italian renaissance days. He is widely known for his classical venetian forms which are mainly adopted from the furnace tradition of glassmaking, as well as his acute attention to detail. He is truly a wondrous artist to be able to cohabitate this planet with, and his work inspires me daily. He has just recently taken to Instagram to begin posting some videos of his process, and it is absolutely epic. Much of the digital content that existed from Cesare prior to a few months ago were various demonstration videos of him creating extremely complex vessels at various glass events. His style of working is completely mesmerizing, and his experience with the medium shines through as he makes every move with complete precision from start to finish with every piece he makes. Venetian glassmaking tradition was largely shrouded in secrecy for many centuries, and giving out information on technique was punishable by death for a long time. Venetian artists within the last 50 or so years have begun to break with this tradition and open their doors more to glassmakers from around the world to be able to share, collaborate, and teach. Cesare was at the forefront of teaching Venetian techniques to people outside of Murano and has an extensive resume of educating glassmakers, and demonstrating publicly around the world. He is a true shining light in the glass community and is revered by many. This past year he arranged the Glass Art Society conference to be held in Murano which drew some of the best glassmakers from around the planet to the tiny island to be able to develop a renewed appreciation for the place many of us in the community revere. He arranged numerous demonstrations from local Murano legends, and even performed a demonstration of a classical Veronase vase himself. While I was only able to view this conference through various people’s Instagrams and Youtube pages, the energy surrounding the event was extremely powerful, and Cesare was at the center of it all. Cesare’s commitment to form and tradition are incredibly admirable and he continues to refine his process and aesthetic with every piece that he makes. He is one of the biggest inspirations in my life today, and I hope to one day be able to travel to Murano to participate in his Apprenticeship program, and hopefully be able to take some intensive classes with him when he visits the states. Cesare’s work will live on long beyond him, and will be held closely by museums, galleries, and his many collectors as he is truly one of the greatest craftsmen of our time, and possibly one of the greatest the world has ever known. Thank you Cesare for inspiring so many.
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Dear Nolan,
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love best about teaching is how much I learn from the students. I had no idea about this artist and his lovely work, but now I do, thanks to you. I think generally most people don't know about glassblowing as a craft, and so you already have an interesting topic--one that could appeal to a great number of viewers. I'm interested in how you got started, and why you continue with your art. Often, people pick up a hobby but don't stay with it, so could you consider spending time thinking about why this appeals to you, and what you get out of it? You could certainly aslo talk about your sources of inspiration, but an examination of your own interest would be even more exciting, as it would allow you to speak to the human condition---this need to create and add beauty to the world.