Corning

Richard Marquis'
"Teapot and Beaded Cozy"

The last time I went to the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) was a week before their new contemporary gallery was to open. So when Nanette visited recently and this museum was on her request list, I was happy to oblige. We set off early, with the goal of visiting not just CMOG, perhaps fitting in a glass-blowing lesson, but also taking in the Rockwell Museum (which has nothing to do with Norman Rockwell), and having lunch and shopping in downtown Corning.

"Forest Glass"

"Endeavor"

We quickly abandoned our downtown lunch plans, since it took us the entire morning just to get through the regular glass collections. My fascination with their extensive paperweight collection hasn’t abated, and I will never tire of Tiffany. After fortification in the perfectly acceptable cafeteria, we rewarded ourselves with the new Contemporary Art & Design Wing and finally the regular contemporary glass exhibit. We were both particularly taken by several large-scale installations – one composed of a multitude of drinking glasses, arranged to appear like three large trees (Katherine Gray’s “Forest Glass”), and another of some hanging pieces that, to me, resembled boats (Lino Tagliapietra’s “Endeavor”). We didn’t have time to watch a glass-blowing demo, let alone take a lesson, and we skipped the educational exhibits entirely, since spending time in the gift shop “gallery” was also a must. To read Nanette’s more in-depth blog about our trip, and see her photos, click here: http://nanettesnewlife.blogspot.com/2016/05/getting-modern-at-corning-museum-of.html

painting by GC Myers
at West End Gallery

Rockwell's "The Buffalo Hunt"

"Untitled"

Our heads were spinning as we drove downtown, and we had very little time left before the Rockwell Museum and the galleries would be closing. Undeterred, we managed to sample some galleries and do a bit of shopping (there was a painting and a sculpture in one gallery that I didn’t buy but wanted!), and still squeeze in the Rockwell Museum (my estimate to Nanette that we could ‘do’ it ten minutes was spot on). This tiny gallery has an eclectic mix of “Art about America,” including Indian artifacts, guns, works by Remington and Warhol, and, yes, a Norman Rockwell (no relation to the museum’s benefactors). My favorite piece was Deborah Butterfield’s Untitled bronze sculpture of a horse.

Corning is definitely worth a day trip, and perhaps even an overnight, to allow for more leisurely gallery-browsing, and perhaps a glass class the first day and pick-up the next…