Artist: Mary Ann "Toots" Zynsky
Title: Untitled (Orange, Yellow, Black)
Medium: Hand-Blown Glass
Dimensions: 6" x 11" x 11.5"
Date: c. 1987
Inscription: Signed "Z" on the bottom
Documentation: Includes 1987 Exhibition Catalog and Gallery Certificate of Authentiity from Modern Artifact
Mary Ann "Toots" Zynsky's "Untitled (Orange, Yellow, Black)" is a hand-blown glass sculpture measuring 6 x 11 x 11.5 inches. Signed "Z" on the underside and accompanied by a 1987 exhibition catalog and gallery certificate of authenticity from Modern Artifact, the work represents the artist's distinctive approach to glass as both a painterly and sculptural medium.
Zynsky is internationally recognized for her pioneering filet-de-verre technique, in which thousands of fine glass threads are fused and shaped into fluid, organic forms. In this work, the interwoven strands create a dynamic surface rhythm that conveys both structure and movement. The vessel's undulating form demonstrates Zynsky's exceptional control of molten glass, achieved through a combination of heat, gravity, and intuitive gesture.
Emerging from the experimental glass movement that developed around Dale Chihuly's Rhode Island School of Design program and the Pilchuck Glass School, Zynsky forged an independent vision rooted in texture, translucency, and the interplay of color and form. "Untitled (Orange, Yellow, Black)" exemplifies this mature period in her career, in which she refined the balance between technical precision and organic spontaneity. The sculpture's subtle asymmetry and flowing contours capture the inherent tension between fragility and strength that defines Zynsky's most celebrated works.
Zynsky's art is represented in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Within this lineage, "Untitled (Orange, Yellow, Black)" stands as a testament to her enduring contributions to contemporary glass, uniting craftsmanship and abstraction in a form that is both materially complex and visually fluid.
About Mary Ann Toots Zynsky
Mary Ann "Toots" Zynsky is an American glass artist internationally recognized for her pioneering use of color, form, and technique in contemporary studio glass. Her work bridges the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and design, transforming glass into vibrant, textured vessels that pulse with movement and light. Zynsky's distinct approach, developed over decades of experimentation, has placed her among the most innovative and influential figures in modern glass art.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1951 and raised in Delaware, Zynsky studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she was a student of Dale Chihuly and a founding participant in the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Her early career was shaped by this experimental and collaborative environment, where she contributed to the groundbreaking exploration of glass as a sculptural medium. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Zynsky began developing her signature filet-de-verre (glass thread) technique—a method of layering thousands of fine, colored glass filaments to create delicate yet structurally complex vessels. This process, which combines the precision of textile work with the luminosity of glass, remains central to her practice.
Zynsky's glass vessels are celebrated for their painterly use of color and fluid, organic shapes. By fusing glass threads and shaping them through heat and gravity, she achieves sinuous forms that seem almost woven or folded, evoking motion and rhythm. Her work balances fragility and strength, opacity and translucence, embodying a harmony between control and spontaneity. This tension between structure and fluidity reflects Zynsky's ongoing dialogue with the material's physical and expressive potential.
Her work has been exhibited and collected by major museums and institutions around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. Zynsky's pieces have also been shown in international exhibitions that helped define the contemporary glass movement, such as New Glass: A Worldwide Survey organized by the Corning Museum in 1979.
Beyond her technical innovations, Zynsky has played an important role in expanding the artistic possibilities of glass and elevating it as a medium for expressive, fine art rather than purely functional design. Her process, deeply informed by color theory, fiber arts, and natural movement, challenges traditional boundaries and situates her work at the intersection of craft and contemporary abstraction.
Today, Mary Ann "Toots" Zynsky continues to live and work in Providence, Rhode Island. Her art remains a vivid exploration of texture, color, and form, and her contributions have influenced generations of glass artists who continue to experiment with the material's limitless expressive capacities.
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