experimentations in molten glass for their revolutionary potential. Sold at street fairs, in giftshops, and through craft galleries, studio glass then was far from being considered an art form.The many small-scale, technically awkward, and monochromatic forms starkly contrasted withthe glossy perfection of mid-century modern Italian and Scandinavian designs then marketed forthe fashionable American home.The Goodes moved to Roanoke, Virginia, in the late 1960s during these artistically formative timesfor glass art, and they became involved with the Roanoke Fine Arts Center (now the TaubmanMuseum of Art). The Museum actively encouraged young newcomers to the area to take advantageof the Museum’s educational offerings to learn about art and art collecting. Consequently, theirsmall personal collection grew (as disposable income would allow). It increasingly included workscreated by nationally known and respected artists from the Roanoke area — none of them, however,were working in glass.Meanwhile, the 1970s cemented the institutional bedrock on which this new art form could thrivenationwide. The Pilchuck Glass School as well as the Glass Art Society were founded in 1971 inthe state of Washington. New academic programs dedicated to glass sculpture and design sprangup at universities and colleges across the country, and specialized galleries and dealers attractedand cultivated a new cadre of collectors. By the 1980s, studio glass had come into its own. InVirginia, pioneering artist Kent F. Ipsen (1933-2012) had founded the highly respected glassprogram at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Art, graduating new generationsof independent glass artists — coincidentally, Ipsen designed the Virginia Governor's Art Awardpresented to the Goodes in 2008. In 1987, the Virginia Glass Guild was formed. Public galleriesand museums nationwide began including glass art in exhibition programming. The Roanoke FineArts Center hosted the traveling exhibition Chihuly: A Decade in Glass in 1987, which brought thePoster of theexhibitionChihuly: A Decadeof Glass, 1984vibrantly colored installations of America’s best known studioglass artist to western Virginia.Glass sculpture would come fully into focus as a collecting areafor the Goodes when the family moved to Norfolk, Virginia,in 1990. David Goode had played a key role in the merging ofseveral Eastern railroad companies into the powerful NorfolkSouthern Corporation in 1982, and new headquarters weresubsequently established in Norfolk. During this period ofsignificant economic growth, the company also had resolvedto assemble a corporate art collection to be enjoyed by6
It seems that your browser's pop-up blocker has prevented us from opening a new window/tab. Please click the button below to open the link manually.