About Glassblower Michael Guzzardo

Michael Guzzardo, an American contemporary glassblower, worked in his mid-Michigan studio from 1972 through 1980. The images are of off-hand blown glass utilizing sliver and tin. The color variations are the result of a controlled nucleation and crystallization technique utilizing heat to activate nucleation in areas and to vary the size of groups of crystals. The finished blown piece is then composed of different colors, having been derived from a single glass batch.

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In 1975, Michael taught two glass workshops at Western Michigan University and his work was exhibited in the 1975 Habitat Gallery Third Annual Glass Exhibition. His work was also selected for The Corning Museum of Glass "Contemporary Glass 1977" (Father's I's) and "Contemporary Glass 1978" (Separating politics from experience) journals, a record of the most significant glass pieces made each year throughout the world. He was selected for the 1979 Marietta College Craft National and received a Jurors Award at the 1980 Lakefront Festival of Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Michael’s work is on exhibit at the New Bedford Museum of Glass, New Bedford, MA. Historical references to the same dichroic colloidal technique of blown glass are the Lycurgus Cup, a 4th century A.D., Roman glass vessel, Murano 1500 to 1520 Calcedonia glass in The Victoria and Albert Museum, the Calcedonio Pitcher in the Corning Museum of Glass and the 1968 Dominck Labino silver schmelzglas piece in the New Bedford Museum of Glass, New Bedford, MA.

 

Michael Guzzardo introduced adjustments, from 1972 -1980, to the thermal history of colloidal silver glass objects. Slight variations in temperature change color, degree of opacity, shading, contrast, composition, and strike transparent layers of different colors.

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Michael is currently a team member at the David McDermott and Yukimi Matsumoto Glass Studio in Sandwich, MA.

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Inquiries can be directed to his son, Evan Fowler-Guzzardo, here.