Ann Gardner (born 1947) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

glass art Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including gl ...

ist known for her large-scale sculptural and architectural installations. She was born in

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Career

Gardner began her career studying at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. In 1974, she received a degree in Ceramics and Fine Arts from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

. As a developing artist, she incorporated painting, ceramics, and drawing into her work. Gardener moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in 1979 where she continues to work. Gardner's early training and work used hand-painted ceramics. In 1985,

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...

invited her to be an artist-in-residence at the

Pilchuck Glass School Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The school was founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Ruth Tamura, Anne Gould Hauberg (1917-2016), and John H. Hauberg (1916-2002). The campus is located on a former tree farm in ...

where she adapted her ceramics experience to working with glass. During her second residency at Pilchuck, Gardener developed techniques that lead her towards the use of largely monochromatic glass tiles (

tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae In early antiquity, mo ...

) and

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s. She is best known for using these techniques to create large-scale architectural installations and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, such as ''Convergence, Lebeg,'' and ''Earth, Fields, Forest, Night, Sun and Water.'' Gardner has her work featured in the collections of the

Corning Museum of Glass The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...

, the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The museum operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in ...

, the

Tacoma Art Museum The Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is an art museum in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It focuses primarily on the art and artists from the Pacific Northwest and broader western region of the U.S. Founded in 1935, the museum has strong roots in the ...

, the American Museum of Crafts in New York City, among other places.

Awards

Gardner has worked as Artist in Residence at the

and

Museum of Glass The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a contemporary art museum in Tacoma, Washington, dedicated to the medium of glass. Since its founding in 2002, the Museum of Glass has been committed to creating a space for the celebration of the studio glass movem ...

, and received multiple

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

fellowships. In 1993 she was awarded the

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...

Award. Her work ''Ring of Water'' was recognized in 2004 as one of the best public art projects by

Americans for the Arts Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States with offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to repre ...

. ''Fog'' received the Juror's Choice Award in ''New Glass Review''. In 2011, Gardener became the first mosaic artist to receive the

Rakow Commission The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass objects, so ...

for her work ''Five Pods''.

References

External links

Ann Gardener website

2011 Rakow Commission Artist: Ann Gardner
(video)
Meet the Artist: Ann Gardener
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Ann American glass artists American women glass artists Living people 1947 births American mosaic artists Pacific Northwest artists 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors American installation artists American women installation artists Recipients of the Rakow Commission Artists from Eugene, Oregon Portland State University alumni 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Women mosaic artists