single archief (EN)

Glas(s)

Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam 1969-2009

14 March 2009 - 1 November 2009

The Glass Department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy is unique in both national and international terms and can be regarded as one of the most important of its kind anywhere in the world. This year sees the fortieth anniversary of the department’s inception. The exhibition Glas(s), Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam 1969-2009 is being held at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag as part of the celebrations to mark the occasion. Glas(s) will show the whole rich history of the Glass Department as well as focusing on contemporary designs that demonstrate the trailblazing role it continues to play.

The Netherlands has a long tradition of involvement by artists, architects and designers with glass as a material. As far back as the 1920s, the Leerdam glassworks (Glasfabriek Leerdam, now known as Royal Leerdam) started to work in partnership with artists. At that time, artists produced designs and the factory’s professional glassblowers executed them. In 1940, the Leerdam glassworks set up a glass school closely linked to the factory. Although the partnership between artists and craftsmen became increasingly close as time went on, the artists always remained dependent on the factory’s facilities for the execution of their designs. In the mid-sixties, all that changed. The invention of a small, portable glass furnace that could be used in their own studios meant that artists suddenly had unlimited freedom to work and experiment directly with glass on their own account. ‘Studio glass’ was born.