fbpx Chrysler Logo
Search
Search
Moses Myers House

323 E. Freemason St.
Open Saturday and Sunday

Noon–5 p.m.

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Reading Room
Wednesday-Friday
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

About the Myers House

The oldest Jewish home in America open to the public as a museum offers a glimpse of the life of an early 19th century merchant family.
More about the house

About the Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

Located in Norfolk

One Memorial Place,
Norfolk, VA
Get Directions

While You're Here

Visit our Museum Shop
and Zinnia Cafe.

Perry Glass Studio

A state-of-art facility on the Museum’s campus. See a free glassmaking demo Tuesdays–Sunday at noon. Like what you see? Take a class with us! More about the Studio

The Myers House

The home of the first permanent Jewish residents of Norfolk, this historic house offers a glimpse of the life of a wealthy early 19th-century merchant family.
More about the house

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the Library

Wedding & Event Rentals

The perfect place for your big day or special event. Get the details

In-person Tours

Group tours are available for groups of 20 or fewer. More about tours

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Visit one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

About the Chrysler

Our story spans well over 100 years. See where we began, how we grew, and where we're going. Explore our history

News and Announcements

See what's happening at the Museum, read Chrysler Magazine, and find our Media Center. Read now

Location

One Memorial Place
Norfolk, VA 23510

Location

745 Duke Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-333-6299

Always Free Parking

Get Directions

Visiting Artist Series

Bringing the world’s top glass art talent to Hampton Roads
Find out more

Studio Team

Meet the brilliant minds behind the Studio.
See the team

Give the Chrysler Experience

Share everything you love about the Chrysler Museum with a gift membership. Perfect for everyone on your list.

The Masterpiece Society

Learn about this innovative group of museum supporters.
Meet the Masterpiece Society

Planned Giving

Help ensure the long-term success of the Museum.
Learn about planned giving

Moses Myers House

323 E. Freemason St.
Open Saturday and Sunday

Noon–5 p.m.

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Reading Room
Wednesday-Friday
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

About the Myers House

The oldest Jewish home in America open to the public as a museum offers a glimpse of the life of an early 19th century merchant family.
More about the house

About the Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

Located in Norfolk

One Memorial Place,
Norfolk, VA
Get Directions

While You're Here

Visit our Museum Shop
and Zinnia Cafe.

Perry Glass Studio

A state-of-art facility on the Museum’s campus. See a free glassmaking demo Tuesdays–Sunday at noon. Like what you see? Take a class with us! More about the Studio

The Myers House

The home of the first permanent Jewish residents of Norfolk, this historic house offers a glimpse of the life of a wealthy early 19th-century merchant family.
More about the house

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the Library

Wedding & Event Rentals

The perfect place for your big day or special event. Get the details

In-person Tours

Group tours are available for groups of 20 or fewer. More about tours

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Visit one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

About the Chrysler

Our story spans well over 100 years. See where we began, how we grew, and where we're going. Explore our history

News and Announcements

See what's happening at the Museum, read Chrysler Magazine, and find our Media Center. Read now

Location

One Memorial Place
Norfolk, VA 23510

Location

745 Duke Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-333-6299

Always Free Parking

Get Directions

Visiting Artist Series

Bringing the world’s top glass art talent to Hampton Roads
Find out more

Studio Team

Meet the brilliant minds behind the Studio.
See the team

Give the Chrysler Experience

Share everything you love about the Chrysler Museum with a gift membership. Perfect for everyone on your list.

The Masterpiece Society

Learn about this innovative group of museum supporters.
Meet the Masterpiece Society

Planned Giving

Help ensure the long-term success of the Museum.
Learn about planned giving

Close
Sign up for emails from the Chrysler Museum of Art

Join Our Email List

Sign Up
ArtExhibitionsPast

Clear as Crystal: Colorless Glass from the Chrysler Museum

On View

December 19, 2020 — July 11, 2021

Location

Glass Project Gallery

Because glass is an artificial material, it can be made nearly any color imaginable. People have long been captivated by colorless, transparent glass despite the other color possibilities.

Clear As Crystal: Colorless Glass from the Chrysler Museum explores the allure of colorless glass by showcasing contemporary artworks and historical objects from within the Museum’s permanent collection that are made exclusively with colorless glass. The works on view reveal the wide array of techniques that artists have used to capitalize on the aesthetic and intellectual opportunities offered by clear, colorless glass.

 

 

 

Karen LaMonte (American, b. 1967), Dress VIII, 2002, Cast glass, Gift of Richard Waitzer in honor of Leah Waitzer and Museum purchase, © Karen LaMonte, 2002, 2003.8
Luke Jerram, (English, born 1974), HIV, 2013, Flame-worked glass, Museum purchase, © Luke Jerram, 2015.25

Glass is naturally bluish-green in hue, so glassmakers have to intentionally manipulate its chemistry in order to turn it crystal clear. Glassmakers in the ancient and Islamic worlds sought to produce a glass that imitated the pure quartz mineral called rock crystal, while Venetian glassmakers of the Renaissance kept secret recipes for their famous cristallo glass. English chemists of the seventeenth century sought to produce their own perfectly clear glass, leading to the popularization of “lead crystal.” Bohemian artisans were renowned for elaborately engraved colorless glasses during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while American glass factories later produced cut and pressed glassware to reflect and refract light. Contemporary artists continue to harness the power and properties of colorless glass, using it as a means to sculpt with light and form.

 

 

The artworks on view in this exhibition demonstrate how artisans and artists across time and around the world have adapted or manipulated colorless glass. An impressive array of forming and decorating techniques have been used, including blowing, molding, casting, pressing, cutting, carving, laminating, engraving, etching, and polishing. The exhibition includes works by artists and designers like Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, Christopher Reis, Karen LaMonte, Luke Jerram, Simon Gate, Edvard Hald, and Steven Weinberg as well as significant glass manufacturers like Boston & Sandwich Glass Co., New England Glass Co., T.G. Hawkes & Co., Steuben, Libbey, Tiffany, Lalique, Gallé, Baccarat, Orrefors, and Barovier & Toso.

An accompanying exhibition brochure (linked below) explores the science of glass through an investigation of the chemical properties and physical behaviors of colorless glass. Several examples of colorless rock crystal quartz have been generously loaned by Hardy’s The Art of Jewelry in Virginia Beach, including both natural crystal clusters and sculpture by the renowned German gem-cutter Tom Munsteiner.

 

 

 

Designer, Thomas Cains (English, 1779–1865) Manufacturer, Possibly Phoenix Glass Works (American, 1824–70) Possibly South Boston Flint Glass Works (American, 1813–27) Compote, ca. 1810–1820, Blown glass, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. James Etheridge in honor of Mary Stuart Gooch Etheridge, 2017.20
Explore More

Programs and Guides

Carolyn Swan Needell, Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass
Wednesday, February 3
Clear as Crystal: Curator Virtual Tour

Explore the artworks on view with Carolyn Swan Needell, Ph.D., the Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass. See the diversity of techniques and aesthetic effects achieved by artists working with colorless glass, and learn more about the allure of this captivating material. Sign up

PDF Download

The Properties of Colorless Glass View

PDF Download

A Timeline of Colorless Glass through the Ages View

More special exhibitions

On view right now

Jacket and shorts set made out of candy wrappers
Through April 28, 2024

Peers: Mixed Media Work and the Tenth Annual Wearable Arts Exhibition
Exhibition Details

Painting of parents and child on floral background
Through March 31, 2024

Hampton Roads Student Gallery
Exhibition Details