Bilbao 2001

This elegant glass sculpture by Lino Tagliapietra seems to emerge out of thin air. I am struck by the vibrant yellow that wraps around the form, punctuated by windows of blue, orange, and red. Imagine the artist in the heat of the moment. The labour involved in creating this piece is intense, manipulating molten glass into something so refined. Those delicate lines must have been created with total precision. I like to think of the rhythm and movement that Tagliapietra conjures, a dance of colour and light captured in solid form. The way the colours interact and bleed into each other, it reminds me of Helen Frankenthaler’s soak-stain paintings. Ultimately, artists are always learning from one another, passing down traditions but also pushing boundaries. And so, this sculpture, with its organic form and luminous colours, offers a new way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world.