Robert Dane started blowing glass at Massachusetts College of Art in 1973. He has studied with Lino Tagliapietra, Pino Signoretto, Martin Janecky, Dan Dailey and William Morris. He has exhibited his sculpture and glassware widely in galleries around the country. His work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Renwick Collection of the Smithsonian Institution. From 1996 to 2016 he and his wife Jayne owned the Dane Gallery on Nantucket, where they showed Robert’s work along with the work of some of the top artists in glass and ceramics.
Robert Dane’s current work is created in his studio in the northern Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. His work is influenced by the Italian tradition of glassblowing, and Afro-Cuban music and dance. Vibrant colors and the spontaneous improvisation of these unique designs give it a distinctly American flavor, which distinguishes his work in a two thousand year tradition of glassblowing.
Artist Statement
The themes I have always focused on are of a continuum revolving around life and growth. There is an optimism inherent in my work that I have tried to reinforce in the face of a seemingly constant barrage of negativity and pessimism coming at us from many sources. The beauty of Nature in its many forms continues to inspire me and inform my work. We are often too absorbed by the day to day of our own small existence to visualize and recognize the grand scheme that is transpiring around us. My aim is to celebrate the beauty of the progression of life as it ever unfolds and reveals itself
