TACOMA, WA.- Museum of Glass announces Nancy Callan: Forces at Play, on view until August 31, 2025. It is time for Nancy Callan’s work to be seen in an in-depth solo exhibition. Although she has demonstrated her craft in front of packed crowds in more than a dozen Visiting Artist Residencies in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop, and her designs have been featured in the museum's galleries as integral parts of other shows, Nancy Callan: Forces at Play – Callan’s first museum survey – puts the artist alone in the spotlight. Seeing glass through the eyes of Nancy Callan is a delight, and experiencing the material through her work is a master class in the artistic process. Her elegant, playful designs are inspired by a seemingly limitless visual vocabulary and executed with extraordinary technical expertise. Forces at Play invites visitors to experience the multitude of ways Callan has used hot glass as a canvas for her perspectives on the world around her.
“Nancy continues to break barriers in the field. Importantly, Forces at Play creates an inclusive historical narrative in glass, featuring a female artist at the peak of her career, in a solo show and catalog. Additionally, it features a glassblowing team creating works of ambitious scale and sophistication. At Museum of Glass, we strive to present the entire glass community in our exhibitions and Hot Shop — amplifying the voices, experiences, and identities of artists. We aim to broaden the conversation about glass and who makes it. Nancy is a Maestro in her own right, and we at Museum of Glass are thrilled that her work is receiving this platform and recognition,” said Museum of Glass Executive Director Debbie Lenk.
The exhibition unfolds through a series of thematic groupings that explore the sources of inspiration that have fueled Callan’s career: “Pop Art and Graphics,” “Pattern and Textiles,” and “Nature and the Wonders of the Universe.” Each group is represented by a curated sequence of artworks, illustrating Callan’s conceptual development and her exploration of form and pattern.
These narrative themes are supported by studio vignettes, source material, and video components, capturing the essence of Callan’s inspiration and process. The exhibition also features new works, created and documented in the Museum’s Hot Shop through a series of recent residencies.
“I would like folks to have a fun and interesting experience, and to feel a sense of wonder and joy as they wander [through the exhibition]. I hope that people will take their time and experience all that they see. I would like people to learn more about me as an artist — the person behind the work. Specifically, I hope folks see the range of expressions and forms that you can make with glass, and the freedom that I feel when working with the material,” said Callan.
Forces at Play encapsulates the development of Callan’s career by featuring works from some of her earliest series as well as examples of current work, revealing how her innovative approach to contemporary sculpture is grounded in her training in Italian glassblowing techniques. The Museum has been fortunate to facilitate some of the experimentation that has led to the development of many of her signature series, in a prolific succession of residencies that has spanned the Museum’s entire history.
“As the viewer goes through the gallery, starting with ‘Pop Art and Graphics,’ they will see some of my current work alongside some of my earliest pieces. There is a harmony between the new work and the old work, but you can also see a progression in the pieces. Regarding ‘Patterns and Textiles,’ I think these references will always be a part of what I make. I see such a strong relationship between how textiles are made and how mark-making is done is glass. ‘Nature and Wonders’ highlights current directions in my work, exploring subtle color fades, drawing with cane, and new metallic surfaces,” added Callan.
Forces at Play celebrates the thoughtfulness, wit, and sense of wonder that are signatures of Callan’s work and invites viewers to see the medium of glass with the same curiosity and passion that have fueled Callan’s artistic career.
“In addressing larger issues of identity, wonder, and the order of the universe, Callan’s work encourages viewers to step back and commit to the act of observing in their own lives. When you see the world like Nancy Callan, there is no moment too small to be inspirational. It is at this point where the magnetic magic of molten glass intersects with the arresting moments of wonder at and questioning of the world around us. By focusing on this intersection, Forces at Play takes glass into the 21st century. Rather than positioning the material as ‘craft’ or ‘art,’ Callan’s work shows us that glass can be both,” commented Museum of Glass Curator Katie Buckingham.
Nancy Callan’s artistic voice as a glass sculptor reflects her high-level training and talents. Callan attended the Massachusetts College of Art (BFA 1996) and lives in Seattle, WA, where she is part of the vibrant Northwest glass community. Callan’s numerous awards include the Creative Glass Center of America Fellowship and residencies at Museum of Glass, The Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo, OH), the Pittsburgh Glass Center (Pittsburgh, PA), and The Chrysler Museum (Norfolk, VA). She began her glass career in the Pacific Northwest in 1996 as a team member for Maestro Lino Tagliapietra, rising to become his main assistant.
Callan has been exhibiting her work since 2001, at galleries including Traver Gallery (Seattle, WA), Schantz Gallery (Stockbridge, MA), Hawk Gallery (Columbus, OH), Blue Rain Gallery (Santa Fe, NM), and Holsten Galleries (Santa Fe, NM). In addition to exhibiting and creating her own work, Callan enjoys the challenges of teaching and sharing her skills with students. She has offered advanced glassblowing workshops at Pilchuck Glass School (Stanwood, WA), The Pittsburgh Glass Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (Deer Isle, ME), and Penland School of Craft (Penland, NC). Callan also enjoys collaboration, working with New York City lighting designer Lindsey Adelman and Los Angeles artist Katherine Gray on recent special projects.
Callan’s artwork can be found in the permanent collections of the Shanghai Museum of Art (Shanghai, China), Museum of Glass, the Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY), the Muskegon Museum of Art (Muskegon, MI), and the Museum of Northwest Art (La Connor, WA), as well as in numerous private collections.
