Lino Tagliapietra
Lino Tagliapietra was born on August 10th, 1934, in Murano, Italy. Eleven years later, in 1945, Lino was already on his way to becoming a Murano Master when he began working at the Archimede Seguso glassworks. He remained there for 10 years. In 1955, he followed his brother Silvano to the Galliano Ferro glassworks. During his time at Ferro, he gradually rose through the hierarchy, as is typical in Murano glassworks. In less than a year, he became assistant master and in 1957, master glassmaker. In 1966, he left Galliano Ferro to work at Venini, which he left in 1968 to pursue new opportunities.
In the second half of 1968, he was hired by La Murrina, where, for the first time, he became not only a craftsman but also the designer of some of the most iconic glass pieces, several of which are still in production today. In the same year, he received the “Borsella d’Oro” award, a recognition bestowed by the Murano community upon a master artisan who has distinguished himself through excellence in glassmaking. By 1972, his creations were recognized throughout Europe. A lamp he designed and created for La Murrina, “The Anteater,” won the “Grand Prix” at the 1972 Barcelona Art Fair.
Just four years later, together with his brother Silvano and other expert glassmakers, he helped create the first course for artists at the International Glass School. The goal was to combine the ancient techniques of Murano glassmaking with the new ideas of Italian and foreign artists, thus blending technical uniqueness with design innovation. For the first time, the works created were presented to the public, signed by both the artists and the master craftsmen.
In 1977, Lino began collaborating with Effetre International in the double role of Master and Artistic Technical Director. At the invitation of Benjamin Moore, in 1979 he traveled for the first time to theUnited States to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. In 1981, while teaching at the International Glass School, he met the Dutch artist A.D. Copier, marking the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration, from which a deep friendship was born that has lasted over the years.
In the summer of 1987, he was invited to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. All of these experiences led to new works and collaborations.
In 1988, he held his first major solo exhibition at the Boymans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. That same year, he began collaborating with artist Dale Chihuly, creating the “Venetian Series.” In 1989, he became an independent artist, opening his own studio in Murano.
The following year, he participated in the World Glass exhibition at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan. In 1994, his first monograph was published: Lino Tagliapietra: Glasses, Glass, Verres, Glas, edited by Giovanni Sarpellon. Between 1996 and 1998, he was invited to the Aperto Vetro exhibition at the Doge’s Palace in Venice, where he exhibited the installation Metamauco. During the same period, at the Steuben Glass Factory in Corning, New York, he created a new collection and received the Urban Glass Award for the preservation of glassworking techniques. Shortly thereafter, a second monograph was published: A Venetian Glass Maestro by Marino Barovier. In 2000, a joint exhibition with A.D. Copier, titled Inspiration in Glass, was held at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. Meanwhile, Lino continued to create, gaining ever-greater recognition.
In 2004, he received numerous awards, including an honorary degree in the humanities from Center College in Kentucky, the “President’s Distinguished Artist Award” from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, the Artist as “Hero Award” from the National Liberty Museum, and the “Philadelphia Artist Visionaries Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
In 2006, he received the “Distinguished Educator Award” from the James Renwick Alliance at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. In 2007, he was honored by the Cambridge American Academy of Art, and in 2008 the Museum of Glass in Tacoma inaugurated the first monographic retrospective dedicated to him: Lino Tagliapietra in Retrospect: A Modern Renaissance in Glass. The traveling exhibition was presented in major museums across the United States between 2008 and 2010.
From 2009 onward, he received numerous international honors, including the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, the title of Master Teacher/Master Artist at the University of Louisville, an honorary degree from Ohio State University, the “Phoenix Award”, the “Visionary Award”, and other prestigious prizes, culminating in the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters, and Arts in 2014.
In 2018, he was appointed co-chair of the Murano Glass Conference, the first gathering in Murano organized by the Seattle Glass Art Society, with the aim of promoting and inspiring glass communities worldwide. That same year, he received the “MAM – Master of Arts and Crafts” award.
In August 2019, he celebrated his 40th anniversary at the Pilchuck Glass School. Also in 2019, a retrospective was inaugurated at the Toyama Glass Museum in Japan, featuring works from 1954 to the present. In 2020, he participated in the exhibition Venice and the American Glass Studio and, together with his family, founded the Lino Tagliapietra Foundation to preserve his artistic and cultural legacy. In 2021, he received the “Medal of Honor Dark Blue Ribbon” in Japan. In 2022, he was awarded the “King of the Furnace” prize at the Corning Museum of Glass.
Each of his works represents a different phase of his artistic career and bears witness to the boundless passion that has always bound him to glass—a passion to which he has dedicated his entire life. The foundation aims to preserve this historical journey and, above all, to promote and protect the art of glass. Although Lino announced his retirement from working in the glassworks in 2021, he continues to be active in research, experimentation, and the creation of unique works, as well as sharing his experience with students and artists.
In 2023, he held a prestigious exhibition at Ca’ Rezzonico in Venice, titled L’origine del viaggio, which brought together twenty-one selected works, offering a retrospective of his artistic evolution over the past thirty years.
In September 2025, during Venice Glass Week, the Murano showroom presented the exhibition Lino Evergreen, where his works were displayed in an immersive setting resembling an indoor jungle, creating a striking visual contrast that highlighted their shapes, colors, and luminosity.
In early 2026, Lino launched a new creative project alongside his colleagues Dante Marioni and John Kiley, creating Drop of Fire, a work that combines technical mastery and symbolic meaning.
The work is presented during the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, carried by Italian athlete Arianna Fontana, marking an important moment in his career and confirming the international recognition of his work.