Randy Strong Glass

Randy Strong, artist and designer in hot glass for 40 years, has worked continuously throughout his career producing innovative designs in glass that continually influence the ever-changing and growing community of studio glass artists. Strong is one of a handful of the early pioneering American Glass Artists to help define American Studio Art Glass. Before he was to enter the world of glass, however, he began his broad education in the arts by working in and collecting photography. In the late 60s, he was working as an events photographer for the Oakland Tribune, and for a brief period, was privileged to work with and learn from photographer Ansel Adams. His first taste of working in glass came in 1969 at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, where he began by studying ceramics and was fortunate to have as his mentor, the renowned ceramicist, Peter Voulkos. Upon graduation in 1970, he received one of the first scholarships to the University of Art in Osaka, Japan, as one of the first exchange students between the Universities of California, California College of Arts and Crafts, and Osaka, Japan. That grounding in ceramics led him into the largely unknown (at that time ) frontier of studio art glass. In 1970, he was with Dale Chihuly when Dale and the Haubergs selected the location for the now renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, Washington — and the journey into that frontier was well underway. Many of today’s successful, working glass artists are either former students or have worked with or for him at one time. His work, ranging from his distinctive crystal and gold goblets and his ground-breaking work with dichroic glass, to his imposing cast sculptures, and now his seemingly gravity-defying, color-saturated, multi-piece sculptures, have been acquired by collectors internationally and are a part of collections ranging from The Corning Museum in New York to the Louvre in Paris. Strong’s work through the last four decades has been characterized by the use of difficult, defining techniques, materials, colors and forms. His newest sculptural work again breaks new ground by challenging the concept of solid form in glass by further expressing its personality in lightness and movement. In 1970, he built and established his studio and gallery in Northern California, where he continues to create, design and teach. After 45 years of making distinctive work in glass, he is continuing to make a limited number of pieces a year while he compiles his book — “The Glassmakers” — spotlighting and detailing the history of the pioneers in glass responsible for creating what now exists as the American Glass Movement. The R. Strong Glass Studio in Berkeley, California, has been creating high-quality glasswork that has been capturing the imagination of galleries, collectors and museums since 1970. Strong has dedicated his life to pushing the limits of hot glass and developing a style that cannot be found anywhere else. Collected all over the world, including the Louvre in Paris, Strong’s designs from his goblets to his sculpture never cease to inspire awe and wonder. From 1971–2013, the R. Strong Glass Studio has been a frequent excursion for visitors to see hand-blown glass being made-up close. Although Strong recently closed the doors to his Berkeley studio, at 67, he continues to produce his unique artwork in various glass studios around the Bay Area, and is currently writing a book about the glassmakers of the American Studio Glass movement.