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Archive for March 20th, 2015

Contemporary Art + Design Wing at CMOG Opens!

Posted in Neat Stuff, tagged Contemporary Art + Design Wing, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning NY on March 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

It’s a very big day in this area as the new Contemporary Art + Design Wing of the Corning Museum of Glass officially opens to the public.

It’s a 100,000-square-foot addition to an already magnificent museum experience, including a state-of-the-art glass-blowing amphitheater that seats 500 and a 26,000-square-foot space for the display of contemporary art glass, making it the largest such space anywhere. This allows the museum to now display the very largest art glass pieces in its collections.

There is incredible glass art on display inside but the building itself might qualify as the largest piece of glass art on the site. Designed by architect Thomas Phifer, its exterior appears as a luminous white glass cube that reflects the outer environment. Because contemporary glass is basically not subject to damage from light exposure, Phifer was able to design a museum space unlike any other. The roof itself is a sort of whole-building skylight that, along with the translucent glass exterior walls, bathes the glass art in a constant glowing light.

The interior features amorphous walls that snake through the space–not a corner to be seen. Even the glass protective panels that surround some of the displays feel special in this space. They are made from ultra-thin Gorilla Glass ( a Corning product that is probably the screen your smartphone) and reportedly have an ethereal , barely there feel.

I am very excited for this addition and for the museum. As I said, it is already a fantastic museum experience and this only takes it to a much higher level. So make your plans and come to Corning. In the Finger Lakes of New York with all its many wineries, we have a world-class museum of glass as well as the Rockwell Museum, great glass studios, art galleries, shops and restaurants. Hey, if you’re in the area in July I hear there will be a show at the West End Gallery that you probably should catch.

Here’s video from the Corning Museum of Glass where they talk about the new addition and their hopes for it. Below it are a couple of the pieces that will be on display.