Object Details
Artist
John Leighton, born Hollywood, CA 1948
Luce Center Label
In 1994, John Leighton participated in the International Glass Symposium in Novy Bor in the Czech Republic. He worked with teams of glassblowers from Czech factories and created large, colorful sculptures that he described as "fantasy plant life." Back in the States, he continued this work with students at San Francisco State University. His sculptures do not represent actual flowers or fruit, but evoke the abundant colors of plant life during the autumn. Leighton often used opaline glass, and here the rich, iridescent colors of this material emphasize the rounded forms of the pods, which appear to burst with life.
Luce Object Quote
"I find these glass forms to be strangely familiar, intimate and sensual. They reference . . . the cycle of life in the plant world." Artist profile, Renwick curatorial file
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Amy Morgan, Morgan Contemporary Glass
Date
1999
Object number
1999.43A-C
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Decorative Arts-Glass
Crafts
Medium
blown glass
Dimensions
overall: 12 3/4 x 25 3/4 x 17 7/8 in. (32.5 x 65.4 x 45.3 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Renwick Gallery
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 56A
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Object\flower
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1999.43A-C