ABOVE IMAGE: Kari Russell-Pool and Marc Petrovic, "3 Birds, Flowers," 2001, from the series Banded Vessels, 2001-ongoing. Blown and flameworked glass. Gift of Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. 2022.6.139. Right: Kimiake Higuchi, "Cyclamen V-3," 1995. Pâte de verre. Gift of Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. 2022.6.59. View of the Studio Glass installation in the Pforzheimer Gallery, 2024. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Mel Taing.
As a curatorial intern this past summer at the Peabody Essex Museum, I had a lot of amazing experiences, but one of my favorites was being able to talk with the artists represented in PEM’s collection.
In August, I had the chance to sit down with Salem-born artist Kari Russell-Pool and her husband, Marc Petrovic, to discuss their work and what inspires them.
I first became acquainted with Russell-Pool’s work last summer working on the Studio Glass gallery, which opened in May 2024 and features a significant number of pieces of 20th-century studio glass acquired from New York-based collectors Carl and Betty Pforzheimer.
Kari Russell-Pool and Marc Petrovic, "3 Birds, Flowers," 2001, from the series Banded Vessels, 2001-ongoing. Blown and flameworked glass. Gift of Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. 2022.6.139. View of the Studio Glass installation in the Pforzheimer Gallery, 2024. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola.
The collection showcases a remarkable diversity of forms, scale and techniques of more than 90 of the most influential glass artists working today. Many of these artists are represented in PEM’s collection for the first time.
I had never learned about studio glass before, but by helping to research artists and figuring out which works would be featured in the gallery, I slowly learned about the complexities of glassmaking and came to love the jewel-like artworks in the collection.
Kari Russell-Pool and Marc Petrovic, "3 Birds, Flowers," 2001, from the series Banded Vessels, 2001-ongoing. Blown and flameworked glass. Gift of Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. 2022.6.139. View of the Studio Glass installation in the Pforzheimer Gallery, 2024. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola.
I was elated when I was able to come back this summer to work on the accompanying publication. On my first day back, walking into the now-completed Studio Glass gallery, I was happy to see one of my favorite pieces, Kari Russell-Pool’s 3 Birds, Flowers, had finally made it from a small picture in design meetings to an artwork on view. The lilac hue of the vase combined with Russell-Pool’s meticulously flameworked flowers and vines make this piece from her Banded Vessels series an instant favorite. Among the flowers perch three blown glass birds executed by Petrovic.
Russell-Pool and Petrovic met while attending the Cleveland Institute of Art. They both cite their professor Brent Kee Young as an inspiration for their foray into glassmaking, especially Young’s Fossil series. Russell-Pool says it was initially the “candy-delicious” colors of the glass, while Petrovic says it was the forms, “beautifully and cleanly done.” Even now, color and form can be seen as major distinctions between the two artists’ work. While Russell-Pool’s flameworking allows her to create a field of colors, Petrovic’s glassblowing skills create intricate, yet streamlined forms. When the two combine their skills, their work truly shines.
Russell-Pool’s conceptual inspiration comes in large part from her childhood spent growing up in Salem. She has fond memories of her grandfather taking her to PEM to see the maritime collection, and credits PEM’s collections as widening her knowledge and bringing stories from around the world to her doorstep. She remembers one object in particular, a wooden prayer bead from the 16th century, being especially inspiring. She doesn’t remember if it was her or her grandfather’s favorite piece initially, but it became an object that the two of them cherished. From afar it looks like the pattern is simply decorative, but up close, the true details emerge. The prayer bead now sits right around the corner from Studio Glass in an ongoing installation called Powerful Figures.
Adam Dirckz and workshop, Prayer bead with the Coronation of the Virgin in Heaven and the Day of Judgment, about 1500–1530. Carved boxwood. Gift of Elias Hasket Derby Jr., 1806. M557.A. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Walter Silver/PEM.
You can see how the intricate carving of the prayer bead influenced Russell-Pool’s work on her Banded Vessels series. When I asked her about the meaning behind the series, Russell-Pool said it was all about the qualities of “growth and abundance.” Despite the realism in her flameworking, she said it's not necessarily her intention to recreate nature, but rather to make something beautiful to the eye. To make one of the Banded Vessels, Petrovic first blows a vase in a color chosen by Russell-Pool. Russell-Pool then uses a folded piece of paper to visualize where she will cut the vase in half, usually at its widest point.
Adam Dirckz and workshop, Prayer bead with the Coronation of the Virgin in Heaven and the Day of Judgment, about 1500–1530. Carved boxwood. Gift of Elias Hasket Derby Jr., 1806. M557.A. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Walter Silver/PEM.
Once the vase is cut, the artist can build her band of vines and add her flowers, leaves and birds. Russell-Pool is constantly cautious of balancing the design so it does not extend beyond the vase, while maintaining its natural look. She says it was pieces such as 3 Birds, Flowers that honed her skills and enabled her to create the work she does now.
For many of her works, Russell-Pool uses pieces that Petrovic has made, and vice versa. Petrovic sees a fine balance between communicating too much and too little: “The biggest struggle is when to speak up in the creative process.” In their collaborations, they make sure to fully discuss each piece, its meaning and the process. But when helping Russell-Pool on one of her works, such as 3 Birds, Flowers, Petrovic says, "My job is just to execute whatever she needs.”
When working on a series together or apart, both artists are very conceptual. Currently, the couple is working on a collaborative series, Our Distilled Life. Their work starts with an idea, or “umbrella,” with each piece honing in on a certain aspect of the overall concept. Petrovic compared their work to poetry, saying that each piece has different layers of meaning:“If there’s an obvious answer we’re doing it wrong.” The hardest part of their work is finalizing a concept, he says, as it should “add something new to the conversation.” Both artists said that currently they are working on pieces that speak to their legacy rather than what sells well. They hope that their pieces serve as “dialogue generators” for those who see them.
PEM offers internships every spring, summer and fall. Follow our internships page for updates and current postings.
Studio Glass showcases works by some of the most influential glass artists working from the late 20th century to today, including Nancy Callan, Dale Chihuly, Karen LaMonte, Harvey K. Littleton, Richard Marquis, Preston Singletary and Toots Zynsky. Particularly significant are the nearly 50 works by the world-renowned maestro of glass, Lino Tagliapietra, that make PEM’s collection one of the largest representations of his work in a North American museum. Three of his masterworks are currently on view.
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