VIENNA’S CRAFTSMANSHIP & DESIGN LEGACY
LOBMEYR
11.15.2016 – 01.15.2017
“When you go from a normal glass to this, it modifies your behavior. You become more graceful. And that’s an extraordinary thing to get for seventy dollars.” –Murray Moss
This exhibition highlights the ongoing master-craftsmanship and design legacy of revered Austrian glass manufacturers, Lobmeyr. The pieces on view provide a glimpse into Lobmeyr’s exhaustive portfolio of glassware spanning nearly two hundred years of master-craftsmanship and visionary design collaborations.
Since its inception in 1823, the family-run manufactory has consistently been at the forefront of changes in design, collaborating with luminaries such as Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos, Oswald Haerdtl, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Anastassiades, FormaFantasma, and Ted Muehling. Also applied to lighting, the Viennese manufacturers’ state-of-the-art craftsmanship may be seen in pieces such as the iconic “Metropolitan” chandeliers, designed for the Metropolitan opera house at Lincoln Center 50 years ago.
While the story of Lobmeyr is one that chronicles the past 200 years of design, it also provides insight into the mastery of crystal making and cutting that the manufacturers have passed along from one generation to the next. The art of drinking – the action, the ritual, the glass itself – is one which we perform everyday. The history of Lobmeyr and its two centuries of drink-ware is enmeshed in the hanging cultures of each era, providing countless insights into our history from the Beidermeier through to the present day.
