Seattle, WA – September 13, 2006 – Seattle-based artist Benjamin Moore has been selected to receive the 2006 Libenský Award for his signal contributions to the development of the American studio glass movement and to the advancement of Pilchuck Glass School. Citing his excellence as an artist, his statesmanship in the glass community, and his contributions in making international connections between the American and Italian glassblowing communities (which have been so important to the American studio glass movement), the selection committee unanimously determined Moore would receive this year’s award.
“He’s a person who serves the glass art community,” observes committee member and artist Cappy Thompson. “He doesn’t draw attention to himself, but it turns out that everywhere you turn, Benjamin has participated in making the glass world a more complete and better place.”
Moore’s introduction to Pilchuck came as a gift from his parents after his 1974 graduation from the California College of the Arts. He came to Pilchuck as a student, and Dale Chihuly invited him to stay on to assist with a master-apprentice program following the 1974 summer program. Halfway through that program, Chihuly offered Moore a fellowship to pursue M.F.A. studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Shortly after completing his M.F.A., Moore landed a position as a designer with Venini Glassworks on Murano, Italy.
His connection to Venini proved central both to his development as an artist and to the growth of the infant American studio glass movement. While completing his studies at RISD and working on Murano, Moore continued to serve as Pilchuck’s education coordinator, helping Chihuly design and carry out Pilchuck’s summer workshops. While putting together Pilchuck’s 1978 summer program, Moore asked Venini maestro and friend Checco Ongaro to travel to Pilchuck to teach. Ongaro’s presence at Pilchuck was revolutionary: Students and instructors gained exposure to centuries-old techniques and aesthetics practiced on Murano in a way that transformed the work of American studio glass artists.
Buoyed by this success, Moore asked Ongaro to return to Pilchuck the next summer; Ongaro declined but suggested that Moore invite his exuberant brother-in-law, Lino Tagliapietra. Tagliapietra, Ongaro, and the other Muranese masters who followed taught American glass artists to work delicately and use colorful surface decorations; they also opened the American studio glass movement to a variety of outside aesthetic influences.
Moore’s relationship with and service to Pilchuck Glass School are legion. He has occupied nearly every position available at the school: student, teaching assistant, instructor, and educational coordinator. He has served on Pilchuck’s board of trustees since 1991 and volunteered to fill in as interim executive director from April to October 2000. “What impresses me,” explains committee member and artist Joey Kirkpatrick, “is that he has stepped up so many times. He mentors and nurtures young artists. At a personal and institutional level, he is a force in the glass art community. And he has continued to make a body of work through all that.”
Reacting to news of the award, Moore said “From the very beginning, this has been a special, special award,” Moore reflects, “and I’m very honored to be part of this prestigious group.” Whether it be his Interior Fold, Exterior Fold, or Palla Series of vessels, Moore’s work marries the elegance of geometric forms with the power of color and light. Says Moore, “For me, the true challenge is to give the piece a timeless presence or quality. To achieve this, I focus on the color, shapes, and proportions of the vessels by themselves and in groups, and the way light interacts with the work.”
A native of Olympia, Washington, Moore’s influence has been truly global. In addition to his stint with Venini, he has been a designer for J. & L. Lobmeyr in Vienna, Austria, and for Fostoria Glass Company in Moundsville, West Virginia. Moore’s influence as a teaching artist has a similar international reach. He has taught at Pilchuck, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Massachusetts College of Art, Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and the Niijima Glass Art Center in Tokyo. He has operated his own studio, Benjamin Moore, Inc., since 1985. His work is held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Arts & Design in New York, the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, and Denmark’s Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, among others.
Pilchuck Glass School, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, and renowned Czech artists Stanislav Libenský (1921–2002) and Jaroslava Brychtová established the Libenský Award in 1997. This prestigious prize acknowledges extraordinary artistic talent and high achievement in the world of contemporary glass art. Pilchuck Glass School coordinates the determination of the award. Previous Libenský Award recipients include Dale Chihuly, Dan Dailey, Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, Richard Marquis, William Morris, Ginny Ruffner, Italo Scanga, Lino Tagliapietra, and Cappy Thompson.

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