Morris Museum of Art houses important art glass collection
In the heart of downtown Augusta, one of the most unique and important collections of studio art glass in the country is on display at the Morris Museum of Art.
The term studio art glass most often refers to work made in the period beginning in the 1960s with a major revival in interest in artistic glassmaking. Harvey Littleton and Dominick Labino held the now-famous glass workshop at the Toledo Museum of Art in 1962. The goal was to melt glass in a small furnace so individual artists could use glass as an art medium in a non-industrial setting, working in studios, creating and signing one-of-a-kind pieces.
Studio art glass casts the artist, in most cases, as both the designer and producer. This differs from earlier incarnations of art glass, which were far more industrialized in their approach.
“The studio glass movement is considered to be one of the most important advancements in the world of contemporary art,” said Kevin Grogan, Executive Director at the Morris Museum of Art. The strongest attributes of the studio glass movement – its strength and fragility, its structure and embrace of abstraction – are readily apparent in the remarkable collection assembled over a period of 25 years by the late Eugene Fleischer.
Fleischer was an accomplished builder, a major supporter of the arts and a philanthropist. He was born in New York City in 1921, one month after his parents emigrated from Hungary. An appreciator of beauty from an early age, he learned jewelry and watch repair from his father and, as a teenager, he was chosen to play violin in the New York Youth Symphony.
After working as a general contractor in Miami, Florida, Fleischer and his family moved to Augusta in 1974. Here he helped develop Hunters Glen and the Ramblewood Horse Show grounds in Aiken. It was here that he discovered studio glass and began building his collection a single piece at a time. He carefully identified and acquired what he saw as the best work by the best glass artists. The result of his efforts is the Fleischer Collection which is now a permanent part of the Morris Museum of Art.
IF YOU GO:
WHERE: The Morris Museum of Art, 1 Tenth Street, Augusta, Georgia
WHEN: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The museum is closed on Mondays and major holidays.
COST: Adults (13 and older) $5. Military and seniors $3. Children and Morris Museum members are free.