VICTOR CHIARIZIA
Artist Bio
Since 1975 Victor Chiarizia has explored many facets of glassmaking, including blown, flameworked, cast, etched and sandblasted. Today, Chiarizia's sculptural works express his thoughts about life, growth and renewal in art glass. Profound images from Chiarizia's Italian-American background coupled with a boundless imagination give an earthy yet surreal style to much of his sculptural work.
In addition to one-of-a-kind glass sculptures, Chiarizia creates limited-edition vessels and sculptures which demonstrate an exceptional use of Incalmo, a 500 year-old Venetian technique that requires the artist to create cup-shape vessels which are then connected to one another on the blow pipe. Incalmo and reverse incalmo are complex and physically demanding processes for even the most experienced glassblowers. Chiarizia uses this unique technique to produce large vertical and diagonal bands of color within a vessel.