Saper Galleries is the source for Stuart Abelman hand-blown glass

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You may also enjoy viewing the glass art we have by these artists:
Robert Eickholt, John and Heather Fields, Rollin Karg, David McDermott, Ioan Nemtoi, David New-Small, David Royce, Tom Stoenner, Bryon Sutherland, David Thai, and the new Hebron Glass!

I met glass artist Stuart Abelman in Philadelphia at an art show in early 2014 and loved the quality, design, and iridescent imagery he achieved with hot glass. They almost look painted -- but are not! It is nice to see original designs in the medium of hand-blown glass so I asked him to make the collection for us that you see below for your enjoyment.

Unfortunately, as of 2018 Stuart is no longer making glass for us, he reports, due to his slowing down.

This group of iridescent "enchanted forest" designs are of the four seasons and also "wildfire" and "midnight" themes. He created some tall, others wide, some medium and some with a footed base. I hope you enjoy the selection that was created for us and that you may have an opportunity to see them on display here.

As always, it is our pleasure to share with you artwork by artists whose creations meet our standards of quality and desirability and that you will love always.

Visit us soon! ~ Roy Saper

Gallery owner Roy Saper with glass artist Stuart Abelman in early 2014.

Spring Iridescent Enchanted Forest Large Wide Footed Vase Hand-blown glass, 10 x 7" Sorry, sold for $295	Spring Iridescent Enchanted Forest Vase Hand-blown glass, 9 x 4 3/4" Sorry, sold for $240
Spring Iridescent Enchanted Forest Wide Vase Medium Hand-blown glass, 7 x 5" Sorry, sold for $195	Summer Iridescent Enchanted Forest Large Tall Footed Vase Hand-blown glass, 11 1/8 x 5" Sorry, sold for $295
Summer Iridescent Enchanted Forest Vase Medium Hand-blown glass, 7 1/2 x 4 1/2" Sorry, sold for $195	Fall Iridescent Enchanted Forest Vase Hand-blown glass, 9 1/2 x 4 3/4" Sorry, sold for $240
Fall Iridescent Enchanted Forest Wide Vase Medium Hand-blown glass, 6 1/2 x 4 3/4" Sorry, sold for $195	Winter Iridescent Enchanted Forest Large Tall Footed Vase Hand-blown glass, 11 1/4 x 5" Sorry, sold for $295
Wildfire Iridescent Enchanted Forest Large Wide Footed Vase Hand-blown glass, 10 1/2 x 7 1/2" Sorry, sold for $295	Midnight Iridescent Enchanted Forest Vase Medium Hand-blown glass, 7 1/2 x 4 1/4" Sorry, sold for $195

Stuart Abelman's artistic ability was recognized at an early age, giving him the opportunity to study sculpture and painting as a young man.

By age 17 he had quite an impressive portfolio. He was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania where he studied fine art for four years and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

It was in his senior year at Carnegie Mellon that he first saw the brand new glass department. It was love at first sight. He devoted his entire senior year to glassblowing. Stuart entered the Master of Fine Arts program at U.C.L.A. in California and proceeded to study and blow glass for four more intensive years. He received his MFA in 1976 and had already created a body of work which was finding its way into art shows and galleries.

In Stuart's last year at U.C.L.A., El Camino College in California called to ask if he would run their glassblowing department. He did this as well as developing a flat glass program for them.

After several years as a college instructor, Stuart realized that although he loved teaching, he did not have the time to create in glass all of the ideas he found himself sketching constantly. Stuart had always drawn and doodled on any available scrap of paper since he was very young. As he grew older this even included drawing borders on his college exam papers, but now he found himself drawing ideas for glass on paper napkins in restaurants and on airplane flights. It was time to start his own studio, so in 1977 Stuart left teaching and started Abelman Art Glass.

Stuart spent much of this year building his studio: furnaces, pot furnaces, glory holes, annealing ovens, glassblower benches... and in 1977 the first furnace was lit at the Abelman Art Glass studio in Southern California.

Although glassblowing was one of Colonial America's first industries, and it enjoyed great popularity during the Art Nouveau period in the late 1800's, hand blown art glass had all but disappeared from the American art scene until the 1970's. Stuart Abelman was one of a select group of pioneering studio glass artists who saw the magic and challenge in glass and set about taking the medium further than ever before.

Stuart uses his own formulas and the finest silica sand to ensure the purest quality glass possible. Each piece is made entirely of hot molten glass and is worked and completed at the furnace. All the colors and design patterns are formed from the hot glass. No paint is used. Many of the beautiful colors are made with gold, silver and other precious metals.

Stuart's glass pieces are shown in around the world and have become permanent additions to museum, private and celebrity collections in the United States and overseas. His piece in the permanent collection of the Corning Museum is particularly notable for its infusion of life into a figurative sculpture in glass. Stuart Abelman was first to bring figurative sculpture to hand blown glass in the new art glass studio movement in the United States in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Enjoy this newest addition to the Saper Galleries glass collection, the art of Stuart Abelman.