Dominick Labino (1910 – 1987) American glassware designer and ceramicist

Dominick Labino featured image
Dominick Labino featured image

Inventor and Glass Technologist

Dominick Labino (1910 – 1987) was an American glassware designer and ceramicist.

Education

At the University of Wisconsin, he studied glassmaking.

Biography

He began his work as an instrument builder for the Bacharach Instrument Company in Pittsburgh. He then moved on to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, where he developed a lifetime interest in glass. He established small laboratories to create new glass batches and fabricate small glass objects while in command of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company milk-bottle plant. Labino learned how to blow glass from his predecessor, Ben Alderson, in the 1940s. He continued his glass industry career by joining Glass Fibers, Inc., which later became L.O.F. Glass Fibers. He served as Vice President and Director of Research. After that, he served as Vice-President and Director of Research and Development at Johns-Manville Fiber Glass until his retirement in 1965. Still, he stayed affiliated as a research consultant.

Emergence, Dominick Labino, 1980. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass (2007.4.165). Gift of the Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family.
Emergence, Dominick Labino, 1980. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass (2007.4.165). Gift of the Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family.

Researcher and Inventor

He was a gifted researcher and inventor who possessed sixty patents in the United States and hundreds in other nations. He served as a technical and scientific consultant for several glass firms and federal entities such as the National Space Agency. He developed pure silica fibre, which was used to insulate the space shuttle Columbia and the Apollo, Mercury, and Gemini spacecraft. Three of his glass fibre inventions have also served as insulation against the Apollo Time Capsules’ severe temperatures.

Glass Innovator

Labino’s technical background aided him in his work as a glass innovator. The artist’s ability to create extraordinary shapes, which give flashing light to his pieces, the range of intensities of colour in his fused multicoloured forms, often contained in clear glass casing, and varied surface qualities, which create broken reflective lights or light-absorbing matte textures, is due to his unique combination of scientific knowledge and aesthetic inventiveness. However, while Labino was a form innovator, he is probably best known for his use of colour.

Dominick Labino (American, 1910-1987). Vase, 1974. Glass,
Dominick Labino (American, 1910-1987). Vase, 1974. Glass,

Use of Colour

Labino’s works exhibit striking colour, colour relationships, and subtle tonal variation. Few artists in this field can combine colours in the molten state because different colours react differently in the furnace due to minute changes in temperature and oxygen content, frequently resulting in breakage. Despite the difficulties, Labino believed that colour is a critical aspect of visual art. Labino created his colour formulations from raw materials, resulting in unexpected and exciting effects. With his knowledge of glass chemistry, he created colours that were unique to him.

Inspired the Studio Glass Movement

Labino and Harvey Littleton conducted workshops at the Toledo Art Museum in 1962, shortly before he built his glass studio, in the hope of transforming glassmaking from an industrial medium to an artistic medium. Their collaboration resulted in practices and technologies that enabled independent artists to work with glass in small, nonindustrial studios, thereby encouraging the creation of one-of-a-kind pieces rather than mass-produced glass. As a result, Labino is regarded as a founding father of the Studio Glass Movement. In 1968, Labino published Visual Art in Glass, a book documenting the evolution of glass as a medium for visual art through text and illustration. His work has been included in most historic Studio Glass exhibitions as a result of his influential role in the movement. Dominick Labino—A Retrospective Exhibition, 1964–1969 and Dominick Labino, Decade of Glass Craftsmanship, 1964–1974 are two of his one-person exhibitions at the Corning Museum. Additionally, Labino’s work is represented in the collections of more than sixty museums worldwide.

Recognition

Labino has received numerous awards and honours for his influential work, including being named honorary curator of the Toledo Museum of Art (1969). He also received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Bowling Green State University (1970), the first Ohio Arts Council Award, and the Steuben Phoenix Award (1977), which is widely regarded as the industry’s most prestigious honour. Additionally, Labino was the President of the Toledo Federation of Art Societies, the Toledo Craft Club, the Toledo Glass Collectors Club, and the Maumee Kiwanis Club. Additionally, Labino was inducted into the American Ceramic Society’s Hall of Fame (1973). He was also a member of the American Ceramic Society, the Society of Glass Technology (England), the Toledo Technical Society, the American Crafts Council, the World Crafts Council, the Ohio Designer-Craftsmen, etc. Archaeological Institutes of America. He is also listed in Who’s Who in Ohio, Who’s Who in American Science, and Who’s Who in American Art.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Founders of American Studio Glass: Dominick Labino. All About Glass | Corning Museum of Glass. (2011, October 21). https://www.cmog.org/article/founders-american-studio-glass-dominick-labino.

Freniere, J., & Tomas, K. (2014, November). Finding Aid – Dominick Labino . Toledo; The University of Toledo.

More on Glassware Designers

  • Léon Ledru (1855 -1926) French glassmaker

    Léon Ledru (1855 -1926) French glassmaker

    Léon Ledru (1855-1926) was a French glassmaker and designer. He was the manager of the design department of the Cristalleries du Val-Saint-Lambert in Belgium for 38 years. Through the work the firm showed at the 1897 Brussels ‘Exposition Internationale,’ he stimulated interest in avant-garde design.Read More →

  • Masakichi Awashima (1914 – 1979) Japanese Glassware Designer

    Masakichi Awashima (1914 – 1979) Japanese Glassware Designer

    After studying design at the Japan Art School in Tokyo, Awashima worked for artisan Kozo Kagami, who had studied Western glass methods in Germany from 1935 to 1946. Read More →

  • Jean Sala (1895 – 1976) Spanish glassmaker and designer

    Jean Sala (1895 – 1976) Spanish glassmaker and designer

    He was primarily taught by his glassblower father and is now regarded as one of the most accomplished Art Deco glass artists. Read More →

  • Sigurd Persson (1914 – 2003) Swedish metalworker & glassware designer

    Sigurd Persson (1914 – 2003) Swedish metalworker & glassware designer

    Sigurd Persson (1914–2003) was a Swedish sculptor, blacksmith, and professor who is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential Swedish designers. Growing up in a goldsmith family, Persson founded his studio in Stockholm in 1942. Throughout his long career, he crafted objects in various materials ranging from metal to glass to plastic. Read…

  • Jacques Gruber (1870 – 1936) French Stained Glass artist and designer

    Jacques Gruber (1870 – 1936) French Stained Glass artist and designer

    Jacques Gruber (1870-1936) was a French stained-glass artist, designer, and teacher, born Sundhausen, Alsace. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, under Gustave Moreau. He was distinguished as a designer in the Art Nouveau idiom. Read More →

  • What is the difference between a wine decanter and carafe? 🍷

    What is the difference between a wine decanter and carafe? 🍷

    When you serve wine in a decanter or carafe rather than directly from the bottle, you can completely appreciate its full potential, but why? The wine can oxygenate and aerate, allowing the wine to breathe after being sealed in a bottle for so long. A wine decanter has a reputation for being a formal and…

  • Pavel Hlava (1924 – 2003) Czech Glassware Designer

    Pavel Hlava (1924 – 2003) Czech Glassware Designer

    He was best known for his cut and engraved glass. Hlava enhanced a number of innovative technologies, both in terms of conception and manufacturing. These featured melted silver leaf and other materials, as well as skeleton moulds for shaping glass.Read More →

  • A Swedish National Treasure – Orrefors Glasbruk

    A Swedish National Treasure – Orrefors Glasbruk

    Orrefors Glasbruk is a Swedish glassware manufacturer. An ironworks was established in 1726 on the property of Halleberg ( the Orrefors estate), Socken, Småland. Read More →

  • Pukebergs Glassworks – Swedish Glass Factory

    Pukebergs Glassworks – Swedish Glass Factory

    Glassworks in Kosta CW Nyström and JE Lindberg started the mill in 1871. They acquired land from Jonas Bergstrand, a farmer from Madesjö parish, who owned the land at PukebergRead More →

  • William Blenko (1854 – 1926) and Blenko Glass

    William Blenko (1854 – 1926) and Blenko Glass

    Blenko established the first American factory to produce sheet glass for stained glass windows. Blenko’s early successes include providing glass for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The White House has a collection of Blenko table ware, used periodically. Wayne Husted pioneered the concept of “architectural scale” designs. Blenko’s “Historic Period” begins with Anderson…

  • Arttu Brummer (1891 – 1951) Finnish designer

    Arttu Brummer (1891 – 1951) Finnish designer

    Arttu Brummer was a Finnish interior and glassware designer. Brummer set up his own interior design office in 1913. Read More →

  • Simon Gate (1883 – 1945) Swedish artisan and designer

    Simon Gate (1883 – 1945) Swedish artisan and designer

    Gate began his long affiliation with the Swedish glassmaking firm Orrefors in 1916. He worked as an artistic director and built the firm foundation for Sweden’sSweden’s substantial modern glass industry, alongside Edvard Hald, Vicke Lindstrand, Knut Bergqvist, and others.Read More →

  • Edvard Hald (1883-1980) Swedish Sculptor

    Edward Hald (17 September 1883 – 4 July 1980) was a Swedish sculptor. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics.Read More →

  • Hiroshi Yamano – Exquisite Japanese Glass Designs

    Hiroshi Yamano – Exquisite Japanese Glass Designs

    Kiroshi Yamano is a Japanese Glass Designer. He studied at the Tokyo Glass Crafts Institute to 1984 and Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, to 1989. Read More →

  • Aimo Okkolin (1917 – 1982) Finnish Glass Designer

    Aimo Okkolin (1917 – 1982) Finnish Glass Designer

    He made deeply cut crystal objects that were often coloured. He used a lot of nature subjects. The most famous is “Lumpeenkukka”. This glass object, designed by Okkolin in 1960, was Riihimäki Lasi’s best-selling single object. Okkolini’s glassware was presented to several foreign heads of state. He continued working for Riihimäki Glass until 1976 when…

  • Riihimaki Glass – Finnish Glass Factory

    Riihimaki Glass – Finnish Glass Factory

    Riihimäki Glass was a Finnish glass factory. The factory, established in 1810 for the production of domestic glassware, began production of window glass in 1919. It purchased various small factories, including the factory in which the Finnish Glass Museum is located today. After buying the Kaukalahti glassworks in 1927, Riihimaki became the largest glass factory…

  • Lino Tagliapietra (b.1934) Italian Glassworker and Teacher

    Lino Tagliapietra (b.1934) Italian Glassworker and Teacher

    From 1956, Tagliapietra taught glassmaking with Archimede Seguso and Nane Ferro; 1966—68, designed glass for Venini, Murano; until 1968, for Murrina; from 1968, taught glassmaking at Haystack School and Pilchuck School, Stanwood, Washington. Read More →

  • Arne Jon Jutrem (1929 – 2005) Norwegian Designer

    Arne Jon Jutrem (1929 – 2005) Norwegian Designer

    Jutrem was educated at the Norwegian School of Crafts and Design 1946-1950, and at the same time received painting lessons from Carl von Hanno. Later studies with Fernand Léger in Paris 1952-53 and with Chrix Dahl 1954-55. He made his debut as a painter at the Autumn Exhibition in 1950.Read More →

  • Gunnel Gustafsson Nyman (1909 – 1948) Finnish glass and textile designer

    Gunnel Gustafsson Nyman (1909 – 1948) Finnish glass and textile designer

    Nyman worked for all the great Finnish glass manufacturers of the 20th century: Riihimaki from 1932—47, Nuutajarvi-Notsjo from 1946—48, and Karhula from 1935—37 (and at littala from 1946—47). She designed for both production and studio glass.Read More →

  • Barbini Glasswork Italian Glass Manufacturers

    Barbini Glasswork Italian Glass Manufacturers

    Alfredo Barbini, a descendant of glassmakers from the early 15th century, studied at Abate Zanetti (design school at Murano glass museum) from age ten; in 1930, began studying at Cristalleria, Murano, becoming a maestro; became primo maestro at Martinuzzi and Zecchin; worked with Cenedese in the late 1940sRead More →

  • Sam Herman (1936 – 2020) American Glass Designer & Teacher

    Sam Herman (1936 – 2020) American Glass Designer & Teacher

    He studied sculpture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, under Leo Steppern; in 1966, glass making with Harvey Littleton and Dominick Labino; in 1966, Edinburgh College of Art; in 1967, Royal College of Art, London.Read More →

  • Dichroic glass – two coloured glass

    Dichroic glass – two coloured glass

    Dichroic glass is a type of glass created in the 1990s using the space-age technology known as ‘thin film physics. Dichroic which means “two colours” is a particular kind of glass Read More →

  • René Lalique (1860 – 1945) French goldsmith and glassmaker

    René Lalique (1860 – 1945) French goldsmith and glassmaker

    Artisan in glass and creator of family firm Cristal Lalique René Lalique was a French glass designer, jeweller, furniture designer,Read More →

  • Mount Washington Glass – American Glassware Manufacturer

    Mount Washington Glass – American Glassware Manufacturer

    Mount Washington Glass is an American glassware manufacturer. It is located in South Boston and New Bedford, Massachusetts.Read More →

  • Hermann Bongard Norwegian graphic & glassware designer

    Hermann Bongard Norwegian graphic & glassware designer

    Hermann Bongard Norwegian graphic designer and glassware designer. He studied lithography and commercial design. Read MoreRead More →

  • Ulla Forsell (b.1944) Swedish Glassware Designer

    Ulla Forsell (b.1944) Swedish Glassware Designer

    Ulla Forsell was born in 1944 and studied at the College of Art and Design in Stockholm and Holland. SheRead More →

  • Dominick Labino (1910 – 1987) American glassware designer and ceramicist

    Dominick Labino (1910 – 1987) American glassware designer and ceramicist

    He began his work as an instrument builder for the Bacharach Instrument Company in Pittsburgh. He then moved on to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, where he developed a lifetime interest in glass. He established small laboratories to create new glass batches and fabricate small glass objects while in command of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company milk-bottle plant.…

  • Harvey Littleton (1922 – 2013) American glassware designer

    Harvey Littleton (1922 – 2013) American glassware designer

    Between 1939-42 and 1946-47, he studied at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, receiving a bachelor’s degree in design. In 1941 and 1949-51, he studied Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, receiving a master’s degree in ceramics. In 1945, he was a student at the Brighton School of Art, Brighton, under Nora Braden’s…

  • Wilhelm Wagenfeld (1900 – 1990) German architect and industrial designer

    Wilhelm Wagenfeld (1900 – 1990) German architect and industrial designer

    He was an assistant lecturer at the Bauhaus in Weimar from 1922 to 1929, where he primarily designed lighting fixtures. Read More →

  • Klaus Moje (1936 – 2016) German Glass Designer

    Klaus Moje (1936 – 2016) German Glass Designer

    Around 1975, Moje began cutting the rods into thin wafers or strips and fusing them in a kiln. The pieces would then be cut again and re-fused to create rhythmic patterns of vibrant colour. In 1976, Moje returned to Hamburg after living in Danzinger Strasse. Read More →

  • Ingeborg Lundin (1921 – 1991) Swedish Glassware Designer

    Ingeborg Lundin (1921 – 1991) Swedish Glassware Designer

    Ingeborg Lundin (1921 – 1991) was a Swedish Glassware Designer. Between 1941 – 1946 she studied at Konstaackskolan and Tekniska Skolan, Stockholm.Read More →

  • Iittala Raami 12-Ounce Glass Bowl, Sea Blue, by Jasper Morrison

    Iittala Raami 12-Ounce Glass Bowl, Sea Blue, by Jasper Morrison

    Raami, designed by Jasper Morrison, adds a touch of effortless beauty to any space. Simple, adaptable, and high-quality tableware is framed by careful design that allows the room to take on its own personality. Breakfast, desserts, and cold meals go well in this sea blue Raami bowl. Finland-made pressed glass.Read More →

  • Jean Luce (1895 – 1964) French ceramicist and glassware designer

    Jean Luce (1895 – 1964) French ceramicist and glassware designer

    French designer. He worked primarily in ceramics, but also designed for glass and gold. His ceramics, in an Art Deco style, were manufactured in Limoges Read More →

  • Kaj Franck Finnish textile and glassware designer

    Kaj Franck Finnish textile and glassware designer

    Kaj Franck was a Finnish textile and glassware designer and ceramicist. He was born in Viipuri, Finland. Often referred to as the “conscience of Finnish design,”Read More →

  • Benny Anette Motzfeldt (1909-1995) Norwegian graphic artist, designer

    Benny Anette Motzfeldt (1909-1995) Norwegian graphic artist, designer

    Motzfeldt is best known for her glass creations. Her work is on show at the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design in Oslo, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Kunstindustrimuseum in Copenhagen, the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, and the Frauenau Glass Museum in Germany (donation Wolfgang Kermer). Read More →

  • Etsuko Nishi (b.1955) Japanese Glass Designer

    Etsuko Nishi (b.1955) Japanese Glass Designer

    Etsuko Nishi is a Japanese Glass Designer. She is a leading expert in pâte de verre, one of the oldest and most difficult glass-making forms. The desired shape is first made of clay, which is used as the basis for the mould. The glass powder is then mixed with a special type of paste, and…

  • Michael Boehm (b.1944) German Glassware and Ceramics Designer

    Michael Boehm (b.1944) German Glassware and Ceramics Designer

    Boehm joined Rosenthal in 1966. His limited-edition Reticelli range illustrated his interest in Italian glass by incorporating cotton twist threads in the molten glass-like 17th-century Venetian vessels. Read More →

  • Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer

    Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer

    Murano glassware was historically decorated with opulent rubies and gold and fanciful forms in vibrant colours. He hired freelance designers like Martinuzzi and Fulvio Bianconi regularly. Gio Ponti from 1927, Carlo Scarpa from 1932, Eugene Berman from 1951, Ken Scott from 1951, Franco Albini from 1954, and Massimo Vignelli from 1956 were the designers he…

  • Teruo Yamada (b.1945) Japanese Glassware Designer

    Teruo Yamada (b.1945) Japanese Glassware Designer

    His work was shown at 1980 ‘Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition,’ Tokyo; 1981 and 1990 ‘Glass in Japan,’ Tokyo; 1985 ‘New Glass in Japan,’ Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe; 1987 ‘The Art of Contemporary Japanese Studio Glass,’ Heller Gallery, New York; 1991 (V) Triennale of the Japan Glass Art Crafts Association, Heller Gallery.Read More →

  • Yuri Masaki Japanese glass designer

    Yuri Masaki Japanese glass designer

    Yuri Masaki is a Japanese glass designer she was president of the Masaki Glass and Art Studio. Her work was included in 1987 and 1990…Read More →

  • Vicke Lindstrand (1904- 1983) Swedish glassware designer

    Vicke Lindstrand (1904- 1983) Swedish glassware designer

    He worked at Kariskrona Porslinsfabrik from 1935 to 1936; at Upsala-Ekeby from 1936 to 1950 (as art director from 1943 to 1950) Kosta Boda glassworks from 1950 to 1973, where he was design director while also maintaining his studio in Arhus. Often, his free-form work was engraved.Read More →

  • Grethe Meyer (1918 – 2008) Danish architect, & designer of furniture & glassware

    Grethe Meyer (1918 – 2008) Danish architect, & designer of furniture & glassware

    She worked on the editorial staff of The Building Manual from 1944 to 1955. She was a crucial figure in Borge Mogensen’s research on the standardisation of consumer product sizes, and she collaborated with him frequently. They created the Boligens Byggeskabe (BB) and resund cabinet-storage systems in 1957.Read More →

  • Per Lütken (1916 – 1988) Danish Glassware Designer

    Per Lütken (1916 – 1988) Danish Glassware Designer

    Lütken was the principal designer at Kastrup & Holmegard Glasverk from 1942 to 1945, where he adopted his predecessor Jacob Bang’s Modern shapes. In the 1950s, he implemented considerable improvements in manufacturing and aesthetic at Holmegard, inspired by the Triennali di Milano. His pieces featured fluid forms in light-coloured glass, some of which had satin-finish…

  • Kosta Boda Swedish glass manufacturer

    Kosta Boda Swedish glass manufacturer

    Kosta Boda, for much of its early life, this famous Swedish glassmaking company’s production centred on drinking glasses, chandeliers, and window panes. However, in the late nineteenth century, with the employment of designers such as Alf Wallander and Gunnar Wennenberg, a more concerted design policy emerged, resulting in more fashionable, Art Nouveau-inspired products.Read More →

  • Finn Lynggaard Danish ceramicist and glassware designer

    Finn Lynggaard Danish ceramicist and glassware designer

    In 1958, he established his own workshop, making him a pioneer in the field of Danish studio glass. Deeply coloured flower designs on translucent backgrounds are a signature of his glasswork.Read More →

  • Willy Johansson (1921- 1993) Norwegian Glass Designer

    Willy Johansson (1921- 1993) Norwegian Glass Designer

    His father was at the Hadelands Glassverk, Jevnaker, where Johansson joined the glassmaking workshop in 1936. He was best known for the white rim on his clear or smoked glassware.Read More →

  • Timo Sarpaneva (1926 – 2006) Finnish Glass Designer

    Timo Sarpaneva (1926 – 2006) Finnish Glass Designer

    He also had a lot of success in the related fields of sculpture, painting, and graphic design. He could work with a lot of different materials, such as porcelain, iron, and plastic. Read More →

  • Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) British painter, decorative glass designer and writer

    Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) British painter, decorative glass designer and writer

    Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) was a painter, decorative glass designer, and writer from the United Kingdom. He was born in the city of London.Read More →

  • Flavio Poli (1900 – 1984) Italian designer of glassware

    Flavio Poli (1900 – 1984) Italian designer of glassware

    Flavio Poli (1900 – 1984) was an Italian designer of glassware. He was born in Chioggia and worked in Venice professionally. He was born in 1900 and studied art at the Istituto d’Arte di Venezia before working as a ceramicist.Read More →

  • Pâte de Verre – art and design term

    Pâte de Verre – art and design term

    Pâte de Verre (French, “glass paste”) is a material produced by grinding glass into a fine powder, adding a binder to create a paste, and adding a fluxing medium to facilitate melting. The paste is brushed or tamped into a mould, dried, and fused by firing. After annealing, the object is removed from the mould…

  • Saint-Gobain French glass and crystal manufacturer

    Saint-Gobain French glass and crystal manufacturer

    Saint-Gobain is a French glass and crystal manufacturer that is located Chapelle St.-Mesmin. Saint-Gobain produced a basic glass design intended for picnics and sold throughout the world for general use. One of its more unique and widely published products was the 1937 illuminated glass radiator by Rene Coulon, who was instrumental in establishing the Institut…

  • Webb Corbett British glassware manufacturer

    Webb Corbett British glassware manufacturer

    Webb Corbett is a British glassware manufacturer, located in Stourbridge.Irene Stevens joined Webb Corbett as a designer in 1946. L. Green designed its 1958 Bouquet range of cut glass. David Marquess of Queensberry was retained as a consultant designer in the early 1960s.Read More →

❤️ Receive our newsletter

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.