15″ Hand-Blown Art Glass Ripple Vase — Attributed to Kenny Pieper, Cobalt Blue & Green

Something Arresting

There is something immediately arresting about this vase. Stand it near a window and watch: the cobalt deepens, the green cane catches the light in bright filaments, and the whole surface seems to shift and breathe like water seen from above. This vase is attributed to renowned glass artist Kenny Pieper and is consistent with his signature Ripple series in form, palette, and technique. It came to us from a North Carolina estate — notably, the same mountain region where Pieper has lived and worked for decades. That geographic connection, combined with the unmistakable cane work, organic teardrop form, and characteristic color palette, supports the attribution with confidence. The original metallic gallery label is no longer present.

About Kenny Pieper

Kenny Pieper was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in the mountains of North Carolina, near the Penland School of Crafts. At fifteen, he was invited by then-director Bill Brown to take classes, beginning with pottery. When the school built a new glassblowing studio two years later, Pieper discovered his true calling under the guidance of Richard Ritter, who was teaching as resident artist at the time. That early spark set the course for everything that followed. After high school, Pieper pursued formal training — first at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, then earning his BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts. He spent sixteen years blowing glass in the San Francisco Bay Area before his career came full circle, drawing him back to the North Carolina mountains. There, he managed Penland's glassblowing and lampworking studios, and it was during this period that he deepened his mastery of classical Italian glass techniques — the traditions of cane work, reticello, and the patient manipulation of molten color that define his mature work. Today he continues to make art from his mountain studio, creating pieces that reflect the harmony and beauty of his surroundings. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Asheville Art Museum, the New Bedford Museum of Glass, and the Hickory Museum of Art, among others. This is an artist whose work has earned its place in the canon of American studio glass.

The Piece

This particular vase stands approximately 15 inches tall in an organic, asymmetric teardrop form — wider at the base, tapering gracefully to a slightly angled mouth. The surface is a layered conversation of color: dominant cobalt and cerulean blues shot through with bold streaks of lime green, dark amber, and white. These colors come from glass cane — rods of colored glass twisted, layered, and embedded in the molten clear glass, creating the distinctive cross-hatched ripple pattern that gives the series its name. Turn the vase and the pattern shifts; tip it to see the base, and the colors spiral into a mesmerizing swirl where all the cane work converges at the polished pontil. It is a piece that rewards attention from every angle. Whether displayed as a standalone sculptural object on a console, mantel, or dining table, or used to hold a few long-stemmed branches, this vase commands a room without overwhelming it.

Details

• Attribution: Attributed to Kenny Pieper (Pieper Glass), Western North Carolina — based on form, technique, palette, and North Carolina estate provenance. Original metallic gallery label no longer present.
• Consistent with: Pieper's Ripple Vase series
• Medium: Hand-blown art glass with embedded colored glass cane
• Technique: Colored glass rods (canne) twisted and layered in opposing directions to create a lattice-like ripple pattern
• Approximate height: 15 inches
• Form: Organic teardrop/gourd shape, asymmetric and sculptural
• Colors: Cobalt blue, cerulean, lime green, dark amber/brown, white
• Base: Polished pontil; signature not visible in photos (Pieper pieces are sometimes signed with a sandblasted mark on the base)
• Museum collections: Pieper's work is held by the Corning Museum of Glass, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, New Orleans Museum of Art, Asheville Art Museum, New Bedford Museum of Glass, and Hickory Museum of Art

Condition

Excellent, like new. No chips, cracks, scratches, or repairs noted. The glass is clean and bright with no cloudiness or mineral deposits.