Dante Marioni

With his upcoming exhibition, Random Thoughts In Three Dimensions, Dante Marioni continues his decades-long exploration of form through subtle shifts in proportion, color, and scale. Some of the pieces revisit early forms from the 2000s, works he considers markers of peak technical skill, while others push forward into new variations of vessels. In either case, Marioni’s work consistently inspires attentive and sustained examination.

Though Marioni is known for his approachable and unassuming demeanor, his work is anything but casual. His vessels are formal, precise, and deeply considered. The son of an artist and raised in a community of painters, sculptors, and craftspeople, He draws on a lifetime of visual references from Greco-Roman and Egyptian vessels to the compositions and color palettes of modern and contemporary painters, including subtle nods to his late uncle, the NYC-based painter Joseph Marioni. Marioni is also inspired by minimalist abstract expressionist painter Brice Marden, whose approach to line, color, and spatial rhythm aligns closely with Marioni’s sensibility in glass.

In this new work, Marioni employs color and murrine patterning compositionally, building each palette deliberately by layering tones and structures that move across the surface of the glass like brushstrokes. Each piece is an exercise in clarity and control, resulting in a contemporary sculpture that responds to light and its environment, a dynamism that can only be achieved in glass.

A lifelong glassblower and master of his medium, Marioni has dedicated his hands and life to the process. We’re honored to share his latest work with you.

For inquiries, please contact samantha@travergallery.com or 206-587-6501.