Richard Charles Marquis, Dick to his friends, has long been regarded as one of the most influential figures in American Studio Glass, and his career goes back to the very nascence of the movement. His reputation in the art glass world, unrivaled and well-deserved, comes from his mastery of this ancient and challenging medium from which he created his original and playful forms; his impact on the lives of countless students and fellow artists he met through his years of teaching and residencies around the world; and his wicked sense of humor. Dick has been retired for several years now, and the pieces offered here stand as a testament to his inimitable capabilities as an artist.
His reputation in the art glass world, unrivaled and well-deserved, comes from his mastery of this ancient and challenging medium from which he created his original and playful forms...
Our relationship began in 1970 when he returned home from his Fulbright year in Venice, where he had been employed at the Venini factory. Dick and I lived, worked, and traveled together for most of the 70s. While he originally crafted both ceramics and glass, he soon turned his focus to glass entirely. The collection brought to you here has been with me in my house in Berkeley, California since those early years, and has great sentimental value to me.
The ceramic coffee pots represent Dick’s love of driving, travel, and coffee. He claims he was born in Bumblebee, Arizona, a state bisected by the famed Route 66. “Eat 43 Miles” reminds me of the many road trips we made west to east and back again, and the funky places we often stopped in for a meal. The four Strawberry Sundae plates are left from a set he made me when I commented that I lived with a potter but ate off plates from Goodwill.
The iconic glass teapots were born of his love for shape and color, as well as his delightful imagination. Their lids are fused so they are obviously not functional, and if you were to put boiling water in them, they would shatter. The teapots in this group were probably made in the late 70s. Similarly, the cups and bowls were studies in color and not meant to hold liquid, either. We displayed flowers in the striped orange vase.
The Lord’s Prayer was Dick’s hyper-technical approach to his Master of Fine Arts thesis at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971. The process required an enormous amount of work and skill, and took many days to complete. First, the letter and heart murrine were made, followed by the words. Then, the words were put into lines. Finally, the lines were grouped together surrounded by the hearts, and pulled out at each end to create a cane. Then pieces were cut from the cane to create the murrine. Dick had three pieces made into rings, one for me, offered here, and two more for each of his sisters.
Should you want to learn more about Dick and his art, there are three beautifully illustrated large-format books I would recommend you read: Richard Marquis Objects by Tina Oldknow (1997), The Way of the Artist: Reflections on Creativity and the Life, Home, Art, and Collections of Richard Marquis by Barry Behrstock M.D. (2007), and Richard Marquis (Keepers) by Vicki Halper (2019). The last book contains a great photograph of the Lord’s Prayer murrina and a description of its creation on pages 32 and 33.
His website, richardmarquis.com, also offers good information about him, his life, his work, and his collections, in just as irreverent and fun a tone as the man himself. “Propaganda” takes to you his résumé, and “Slide-o-Rama,” to an entertaining photo montage—one is a photo of Dick, me, and our beloved English setter Nigel next to our 1929 Model A Roadster pickup truck. Nigel features in several of Dick’s later pieces.
While Dale Chihuly is the tide that raised all boats, Marquis is the craft intelligence that made the vessels seaworthy. He taught the second generation of American glass artists that skill extends freedom instead of limiting it.
Regina Hackett, Art Critic
Richard Marquis b. 1945
Richard Marquis is a world-renowned American studio glass artist and a pioneer of American contemporary glass art. He was born in the small town of Bumble Bee, Arizona and began his lifelong absorption with collecting found and scavenged objects in categories (cigar bands, bottle caps) as a child. He also engaged in building hobby models.
Marquis attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied ceramics and glass. In 1969, he was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship to study at the Venini Factory in Murano, Italy. There, he learned the traditional Venetian techniques of caning and murrine, which involve creating colored glass rods or chips that are fused together to create intricate patterns. After returning to the United States, Marquis began to incorporate these techniques into his own work. His early pieces were often small, colorful sculptures that explored the possibilities of murrine. In the 1980s, he began to experiment with larger-scale works, such as his "Marquiscarpa" series, which are inspired by the work of the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.
Marquis's work is often playful and humorous, but it also has a serious underlying aesthetic. A self-described “color junkie,” he is a master of color and form, and his work is characterized by its flawless technique and attention to detail. He is also a skilled draftsman, and his drawings often serve as the basis for his glass sculptures. Far from a traditionalist, Marquis pushes the boundaries of his art and creativity, often incorporating found objects into his creations that imbue them with narratives or comment on pop culture references.
Marquis has exhibited his glass extensively throughout the United States and Europe and has received numerous awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Glass Art Society and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, and the James Renwick Alliance Masters of the Medium Award. His work is included in the collections of major museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In addition to his prolific body of work, Marquis has served as a mentor to many young glass artists. He is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of American studio glass.
Auction Results Richard Marquis
