POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Goblet by Richard Marquis and Dante Marioni

Object No. 94/104/2

Richard Marquis is best known to international artists, critics and glass collectors for his murini teapots and glass sculptures assembled from various glass forms such as teapots, balls, cylinders or cones often piled one upon another in curious colourful 'towers'. Dante Marioni is well known for his finely executed drinking vessels with with strong references to the Italian tradition of glass working. The two artists began working together in 1987. In 1991 they created the first teapot goblets and have produced a number of inventive variations ever since. The objects in the series have become the signature pieces of their collaboration. The three goblets are among the finest examples in the series. They were made in Canberra in 1994 to introduce Australian students to the sophisticated techniques used in their making (the forms are blown form pickups of the zanfirico canes). The goblets are important in that they are made by leaders of a major development in American glass which emphasises the the drive for artistic excellence and, at the same time the desire to mock the seriousness of the drive. However the mockery in the Marquis/Marioni pieces is usually gentle, and the message to the students was clear: "...you have to master the glass making techniques before attempting to satirise the glass."