John Lewis (B. 1942) "Moon Series" Signed Art Glass Paperweight

Details

Description

From John Lewis’s celebrated Moon Series of glass objects, this signed art-glass paperweight is a refined example of his visionary … Read more From John Lewis’s celebrated Moon Series of glass objects, this signed art-glass paperweight is a refined example of his visionary exploration of landscape, lunar imagery and molten glass as painterly medium. Intricate layers of cobalt, teal and amber swirl within the polished orb, punctuated by fine ribbon-lines and a glowing halo, evoking earth-sea-sky and the quiet radiance of the moon.

Lewis created his “glass moon bottles” and related vessels between circa 1971–80, with this piece being dated 1979, drawing inspiration from America’s space exploration and geological forms: clouds, waves and moons.

His process involved fusing glass into a spherical form, moving the molten material on the surface, and tailoring each design to the body of the vessel.

Over approximately nine years he refined this series, developing ever-finer lines and more sophisticated surface decoration.

The piece stands as a small-scale but fully realised expression of Lewis’s transition from architecture and blown glass to cast and sculptural glass forms—a movement that positioned him in the forefront of the American studio-glass evolution. The paperweight form makes this artwork both collectible and purposeful: a luminous object that belongs on a desk, shelf or mantel, yet conveys the ambition of glass as a medium of light, time and space.

Lewis’s works are held in several major museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum / Renwick Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the New Mexico Museum of Art, among others.

Signed “Lewis Studio '79-03” on base.

https://americanart.si.edu/artist/john-lewis-27498 See less