Kenny Pieper: Contemporary Elegance Born from Venetian Fire

Kenny Pieper is an American glass artist renowned for his mastery of traditional Italian glassblowing techniques, particularly incalmo and murrine. 

Working primarily with vibrant colors and elegant, elongated vessel forms, Pieper creates pieces that emphasize form, balance, and the fluidity of molten glass. His work often features seamless bands of color and intricate layered patterns achieved through precise heat control and expert craftsmanship. 

Inspired by both classical Venetian traditions and contemporary aesthetics, Pieper’s blown glass pieces are celebrated for their refined simplicity, technical excellence, and striking visual harmony.

In his Satellite series, contemporary design functions in a traditional context to create a striking sculptural vessel. The central elements resemble black marble and blend beautifully with the complex patterns of Reticello cane work. These sculptural vessels create an elegant and dazzling presence.

In the Diva Series Pieper uses traditional cane techniques but with a new twist. By picking up the rods of twisted color in an unusual way a new set of patterns is realized. These canes are then blown into tall slender shapes. The effect is elegant and stunning.

In his Splash Series, Kenny uses the Murrine technique in a new way to create a stunning effect that is fresh and dramatic. Murrine is an age old technique by which bundles of cane are heated, stretched, cooled, cut into slices, then remelted to create very specific imagery.