Robert Dane has been blowing glass for over thirty-five years, starting at Massachusetts College of Art in 1973. He has studied with Lino Tagliapietra, Pino Signoretto, Dan Dailey, Dante Marioni, and William Morris. He has exhibited his sculpture and glassware widely with 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. In 1996 he and his wife Jayne opened the Dane Gallery on Nantucket where they show Robert’s work along with the work of some of the top artists in glass and ceramics.
Robert Dane’s current production work is created in his studio in the northern Berkshires of western Massachusetts. The work is influenced by the Italian tradition of glassblowing, but has a distinctly American flavor. Vibrant colors and the spontaneous improvisation of these unique designs distinguish his work in a two thousand year tradition of glassblowing.
Dane’s “Tutti Frutti Goblets” are all one of a kind, spontaneous expressions of life’s pleasures. As in any group, no two are alike. When they are together, they enhance each other’s presence, creating a unique and beautiful experience. They are inspired by the Italian glassblowing tradition, and the diverse and vibrant world of color around us.
His most recent series of sculpture is inspired by the folkloric tradition of Afro-Cuban percussion and dance. The music that came from Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas is based not on the individual, but on the group efforts of the community. It takes everyone in the group, playing their part, to create the melody. Dane finds a strong correlation between this community ritual, and the teamwork of the Italian glassblowing tradition. His pieces are blown and hot-worked solid glass, mounted on wooden bases. Dane celebrates the expression of community, it’s music, rituals and identity, with his masks, drums, and dancers.
Visit the Dane Gallery at 28 Centre Street, Nantucket, or online here.
