Wright Auction

Marvin Lipofsky was a world-renowned American studio glass artist and a pioneer of contemporary glass art. Raised in Barrington, Illinois, he went on to attend the University of Illinois, Urbana where he studied industrial design followed by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied ceramic sculpture. While in Madison, he was first introduced to the use of glass via studying in 1962 with the "father of American studio glass," Harvey Littleton.

Lipofsky began to explore new techniques and forms in glass in the mid-1960s and was a pioneer in the use of colorful glass; his work often featured masterful arrangements of bold, saturated hues. In the 1960s and 1970s, Lipofsky was a key member of the Studio Glass Movement, a group of American glass artists who were dedicated to pushing the boundaries of glass as an artistic medium. His experiments included using techniques such as painting, copper, electroplating, rayon flocking, decals, mirroring, and fuming metal salts on hot glass and led to many new and exciting discoveries that he incorporated into his creative arsenal.

Lipofsky was the founder and head of the glass department at the California College of Arts and Crafts where he taught as a full professor from 1967 until 1987. From early in his career he also traveled extensively and he went on to serve as Artist-in-Residence in over 25 international institutions, among them the Royal Leerdam Factory (Amsterdam); the Nuutajärvi Glass Factory (Finland); Venini Factory (Murano, Italy); Miasa Bunko Center (Nagano, Japan); and Denizen Glass Studio (North Manly, Australia). His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe and he received numerous awards, including the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award from the Glass Art Society, the James Renwick Alliance Master of the Medium Award, and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass Artist Award. His glass can be found in over 100 public collections around the world, including the Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Stedelijke Museum, Amsterdam, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.

Lipofsky continued to work until his death in 2016. He was a mentor to many young glass artists, and he is considered one of the most important figures in the history of American studio glass.