Alison Berger Glassworks objects lighting furniture commissions


All Objects

Vessels

Comme Des Garçons

Hermès

LIGHTING
OBJECTS
Sumsandi gnismolorthis pageex ex ent augiamc onsequat. Pat ex ex
Text to come. Hide sim dip from the public until then
exercipis enibh eu facilluptat nis nostrud minis nullamconsed dunt
adipit nim velit iriustio core dolute essequipit amet, summod dipit
ullum dunt venibh eui blaorpe riliquat lam incillan exer si bla facin
ex ero dolobor sequi bla consecte modolob orerit, core volorper alis
nostrud dit am, ver autpat prat. quatisc iduisci bla conulla feugiat
adit, conullum autpat, quisl.

dolobor sequi bla consecte modolob orerit, core volorper alis

Form study, “Chinese” apothecary jars << previous next >>

OBJECTS | ALL OBJECTS


All Objects

Vessels

Comme Des Garçons

Hermès

LIGHTING

Sumsandi gnismolor sim dip ex ex ent augiamc onsequat. Pat ex ex


Form study “Chinese” apothecary jars << previous next >>

OBJECTS | ALL OBJECTS


Still life - light study << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Detail of Morandi’s studio Diderot etchings << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Bottle sketch Detail Flemish painting Still life << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Inspiration research and tear vial << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Alchemy drawing, photo transfer with graphite and oil pastel << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Vase with cast base, Bar set - Grappa bottle Bottle with cast base and glass << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Cup and Heart << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Water bottles Drawing - graphite on mylar << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Water bottle detail Water bottles << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Bar set series << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Bar set detail Cabinet with various vessels and found objects << previous next >>

OBJECTS | VESSELS


Inspiration for commission, Alberto Giacommeti, The Palace at 4am Detail of storefront installation << previous next >>

OBJECTS
Description: Text to come
COMME DES
GARÇONS


Storefront entry << previous next >>

OBJECTS
COMME DES
GARÇONS


Storefront street view << previous next >>

OBJECTS
COMME DES
GARÇONS


Installation storefront details << previous next >>

OBJECTS
COMME DES
GARÇONS


Concept collage for The Balance Line Collection << previous next >>

OBJECTS
HERMÈS


Group shot, The Balance Line Collection Oil and vinegar bottles << previous next >>

OBJECTS
HERMÈS


Cereal and sugar bowls << previous next >>

OBJECTS
HERMÈS


Creamer , The Balance Collection Still life, The Balance Collection << previous next >>

OBJECTS
HERMÈS


All Lighting

Pendants

Sconces

Floor Lamps

LIGHTING

Text to come. Hide this page from the public until then

Clear bulb filament detail << previous next >>

LIGHTING | ALL LIGHTING


All Lighting

Pendants

Sconces

Floor Lamps

Clear bulb filament detail << previous next >>

LIGHTING | ALL LIGHTING


Word Pendant detail Word Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Word Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


2005 Firefly Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Bell Light Crystal Sphere Pendant, Onion Light << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Crystal Sphere Pendant Chandeleiier detail << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


2001 Pendants - Threaded, Rolled, Acid-Etched 2001 Pistil Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Amber Tree Lights << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Inspiration, 4th century wedding goblet 2003 Thread-By-Thread Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Disc Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Inspiration collage Lantern Pendant << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Scripted Pendant Chendelier detail Scripted Pendant Chandelier from below << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Bell Tower Chandelier Inspiration photo << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Silver Line Pendants << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Prototype form studies Silver Line Pendant Chandelier << previous next >>

LIGHTING | PENDANTS


Tear Sconce << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Cylinder Sconce << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Crystal Sphere Sconce << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Double Block Sconce << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Inspiration for Lens Sconce << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Lens Sconce prototype Optical study << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Lens Sconce << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Lens Chandelier detail Lens Chandelier << previous next >>

LIGHTING | SCONCES


Drawings and historical inspiration for Surveyor’s Floor Lamp << previous next >>

LIGHTING | FLOOR LAMPS


Cartographer’s drawing Surveyor’s Floor Lamp << previous next >>



LIGHTING

Sumsandi gnismolor sim dip ex ex ent augiamc onsequat. Pat ex ex


Roman Ring detail Roman Ring Floor Lamp << previous next >>



All Furniture

Stools

Tables

Abicus Screen

FURNITURE


Glass Stool << previous next >>

FURNITURE | ALL FURNITURE


All Furniture

Stools

Tables

Abicus Screen


FURNITURE | ALL FURNITURE


All Furniture

Stools

Tables

Abicus Screen


FURNITURE | STOOLS


Glass Stool and drawings << previous next >>

FURNITURE | STOOLS


Found jade abacus << previous next >>

FURNITURE | ABICUS SCREEN


Abacus Screen drawings << previous next >>



Abacus Screen beads << previous next >>



Abacus Screen elevations << previous next >>



Abacus Screen details << previous next >>



All Commissions

Crystal Sphere Chandelier

Constellation

Glass Slde Chandelier

Astrolabe

COMMISSIONS


Crystal Sphere Pendant Chandelier photo contact sheet << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS | ALL COMMISSIONS


All Commissions

Crystal Sphere Chandelier

Constellation

Glass Slde Chandelier

Astrolabe

Crystal Sphere Pendant Chandelier photo contact sheet << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS | ALL COMMISSIONS


Crystal Sphere Pendant Chandelier seen from below << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS
Description: Inspired by the repetition of the window mullions that were predominate throughout the site, the structure of the chandelier is a three
CRYSTAL SPHERE
dimensional interpretation of the window patterns. During the day, the presence of the structure lends an architectural element to the room. At night, the
PENDANT lights float, creating a quiet constellation.
CHANDELIER


Crystal Sphere Pendant Chandelier detail Chrystal Sphere Pendant Chandelier installation view << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS
Description: Inspired by the repetition of the window mullions that were predominate throughout the site, the structure of the chandelier is a three
CRYSTAL SPHERE
dimensional interpretation of the window patterns. During the day, the presence of the structure lends an architectural element to the room. At night, the
PENDANT lights float, creating a quiet constellation.
CHANDELIER


Site photo << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS | CONSTELLATION


Constellation Chandelier view from stair Star map from vintage glass slide << previous next >>



Constellation Chandelier as seen from below << previous next >>



Glass Slide Chandelier drawings and inspiration << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS
Description: This project combines Alison’s interest in creating new forms around found objects. The structure of the chandelier acts like an architectural
GLASS SLIDE
monument to the past, the lives led, the places traveled. It is comprised of Alison’s personal collection of antique glass slides acquired over the last 25
CHANDELIER years.


Glass Slide Chandelier detail << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS
GLASS SLIDE
CHANDELIER years.


Glass Slide Chandelier installation view << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS
GLASS SLIDE
CHANDELIER years.


16th century astrolabes << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS
Description: This piece explores Alison’s ongoing interest in creating contemporary forms from historical and scientific apparatuses. It is inspired from a
ASTROLABE 16th century, hand held astrolabe device that was used to chart the stars along nautical pathways. The device is reinterpreted, increased to a sculptural
scale, for a site-specific location.


Form study drawings, graphite on mylar << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS


Astrolabe installation day view Skylight study << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS


Drawings for Astrolabe suspension << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS


Astrolabe installation views << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS


Astrolabe detail of glass etching << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS


Astrolabe night view << previous next >>

COMMISSIONS


BIO
LIGHTING

Alison Berger is an artist dip ex medium is light and whose material
Sumsandi gnismolor sim whose ex ent augiamc onsequat. Pat ex ex
is glass. enibh eu facilluptat nis fixtures, objects, furnishings or
exercipisWhether designing light nostrud minis nullamconsed dunt
large-scale sculptures, she uses essequipit amet, summod dipit
adipit nim velit iriustio core doluteage-old glass blowing techniques
to create glass forms blaorpe riliquat lam incillan exer si bla facin
ullum dunt venibh eui that transcend time and capture light. Derived
from historic forms that have been stripped orerit, core volorper alis
ex ero dolobor sequi bla consecte modolob down to their essence,
her work feels ver autpat prat. quatisc and modern.
nostrud dit am,simultaneously old worldiduisci bla conulla feugiat
Born in Dallas, Texas, Alison Berger is trained as an architect.
She received bla consecte modolob orerit, School of Design
dolobor sequi a BFA from the Rhode Island core volorper alis and
continued am, ver autpat prat. quatisc iduisci bla conulla feugiat
nostrud dither studies at Columbia University School of Architecture.
After working autpat, quisl.
adit, conullumas an architect for many years, first with Bausman-
Gill and Associates, where she collaborated on the award-winning
headquarters of Warner Bros. Records in Rockefeller Center, and
then with Frank O. Gehry and Associates, Berger began to devote
herself to her glass design full time in 1995.

Alison Berger in the studio

PROFILE | BIO


Bio

Artists Statement

Process

ARTIST’S
LIGHTINGSTATEMENT

Glass captures the process ex ex ent augiamc as light fades,
Sumsandi gnismolor sim dipof remembering andonsequat. Pat ex ex
forgetting. Light is facilluptat nis nostrud minis nullamconsed dunt
exercipis enibh eu the medium, glass is the material and memory,
elusive as it is, is my core dolute essequipit amet, summod
adipit nim velit iriustiotheme. The work is based on the visualdipit
vocabulary that societies create to manifest their exer si desires
ullum dunt venibh eui blaorpe riliquat lam incillan beliefs, bla facin
and rituals. Victorian bla consecte modolob orerit, jars volorper alis
ex ero dolobor sequi fly traps, fireflies, apothecary core and devices
of measure are examples prat. objects that have inspired this
nostrud dit am, ver autpat of thequatisc iduisci bla conulla feugiat
work. I am drawn to these pieces because they are simultaneously
enigmatic and revealing in what they say about the cultures that
invented and bla consecte Rendered in glass, altered in alis
dolobor sequiutilized them. modolob orerit, core volorper scale and
stripped of decoration, their essence is exposed. conulla feugiat
nostrud dit am, ver autpat prat. quatisc iduisci blaThese pieces
represent a reinterpretation
adit, conullum autpat, quisl. that makes them feel contemporary and
old world. Like memory itself, these glass objects, sculptures and
furnishings transcend time and place.
- Alison Berger

Apothecary jars

PROFILE | BIO


Furnace door << previous next >>

PROFILE | PROCESS


First gather at the furnace Shaping the piece << previous next >>

PROFILE | PROCESS


Forming the first bubble << previous next >>

PROFILE | PROCESS


Alison Berger with Jesus Garcia, master gaffer Shaping the molten glass << previous next >>

PROFILE | PROCESS


Shop tools and calipers << previous next >>

PROFILE | PROCESS


Perfecting the form << previous next >>

PROFILE | PROCESS


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

ALL PUBLICATIONS BY YEAR

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005


2004

2003

Elle Decoration Magazine
November, 2005
Alison Berger
2002
“I’m always interested in the atmospheric condition of light. It’s more about the scupltural presence than a task light. Glass is
about lighting being contained. It becomes a double positive when you have light held ina glass vessel. I like for th elight to
be floating inside these chambers.”

Handblown crystal pendants for exerior use, $1,189 each, at Plug, Los Angeles
(323) 655-5635.

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996 1995


Magazine Covers by Year


Forbes Life, Mar. 2010
California Style, Oct. 2009
American Craft, Feb. 2009
Interior Design, Best of Year 2008
Town & Country, Oct. 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Design Life Now: Nt’l DsnTriennial, 2006
Architectural Record, May 2006
Architectural Digest, Mar. 2006
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Forbes Life, March 2010
House & Garden, Apr. 2004 “Festival of Light”
Los Angeles Times Magazine, Feb. 9
As a child, Alison Berger caught fireflies in a jar, a magic that apparently worked on her: Now all grown up, she captures light
Flaunt MAgazine, Nov. 2001
in enchanting, often mysterious blown-glass sculptures. “Lights are vessels for illumination,” says the Los Angeles artist.
New York Times, Home Design M., Fall 2001 “My work is about holding fine points of light in objects of various densities.
Elle Magazine, Jul. 2000
Elle Décor, Sep. 1998 Berger happened upon a glass-blowing studio in her native Dallas as a teenager, started nosing around, and soon began
making herself an “unnecessary presence” there. A degree from RISD and work in Frank Gehry’s studio followed, a journey
Elle Decoration, Nov. 1997
traced in her creations, which combine a draftsman’s discipline with a sculptural fluidity that has landed her works in the
Axis, Sep. 1997 Corning Museum of Glass and the Cooper-Hewitt.
The Daily Yomiuri Newspaper, Aug. 9
In Style, Mar. 1997 Her pieces are also functional – Berger’s artwork, like the pendant fixtures (above left), will (strikingly) light up a room.
Among her other projects is the Balance Line collection of potential heirlooms (jars, bowls, vases) for Hermès - unusually,
Interior Design, Jun. 1995
the company allowed Berger to sign each piece – and windows at the Comme des Garçons store in Tokyo.
A love of anthropology draws Berger to historical forms: apothecary jars, measuring devices, Victorian-era flytraps. “I study
ALL PUBLICATIONS BY YEAR different techniques and come up with my own idea of these centuries-old vessels. For instance, a Medici barometer that
Galileo made or a fourth-century wedding goblet: There’s a mystery to historical objects and what they say about how people
lived.” Adds Berger, “I think about how I can strip these things to their essence, then create something new and old at the
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same time.” – Lorraine Cademartori
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– 2005
LA Times, Jun 17, 2004
LA Times Magazine, Feb 9, 2003
NY Times Home Design, Fall 2003
Elle, Jul 2000
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PLACE ALL
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+ 1998
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PAGES




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Elle Décor, March 2010
House & Garden, Apr. 2004
Flaunt Magazine, Nov. 2001
New York Times, Home Design M., Fall 2001
Elle Décor, Sep. 1998
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


+ 2010
Elle Décor, Mar. 2010
+ 2009
House Beautiful, Oct. 2009
World of Interiors, Sep. 2009
Gloss Magazine, Jul. 2009
Ell Décor, Jul. 2009
California Homes , Feb. 2009
La Times, Feb 2009
Once Upon a Chair, Jan. 2009
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Metropolitan Home, Sep. 2008
360, Summer 2008
Interiors, Jun. 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor Mar. 2008
Western Interiors & Design, Jan. 2008
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World of Interiors, Dec. 2001
Metropolitan Home, Oct. 2007
Chicago Tribune, Sep. 16, 2007
World of Interiors, Jan. 2007
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Wallpaper* On-line, Nov. 2006
Elle Décor, Nov. 2006
West - LA Times, Sep. 17, 2006
Los Angeles, Jul. 2006
Archtectural Record, May 2006
Metropolitan Home, Feb. 2006
Design Lie Now, Jan. 2006
– 2005
Elle Décor, Oct. 2005
La Home Design, Mar. 2005
House Beautiful, Feb 2005
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Western Interiors, Sep, 2004
California Home + Design, Sep. 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
La Times, Jun. 17, 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 California Style, October 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997

PLACE
In Style, Mar. 1997


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La Times, Feb. 9, 2003
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ALL
LA Architect, Jul 2002
Fine Furnishings, May 2002
La Times, Mar. 2002
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Gallery Guide, Dec. 2001
Flaunt, Nov. 2001
New York Times - Home Design, Sep. 2001
Architectural Digest, Jun. 2001
Hermès, Spring 2001

PAGES
Elle Décor, Feb. 2001

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+ 1999
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Wallpaper* Magazine, Nov. 1998
New York Magazine, Oct. 1998
+ 1997
Elle Décor Germany, Nov. 1997
Glass + Art, Sep. 1997
Axis, Sep. 1997
Daily Yomiuri Japanes Newspaper, Aug. 1997
Exhibition Comme Des Garçons, Jul. 1997
Town & Country, Apr. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997
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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
La Times, Feb 2009 House Beautiful, October 2009

PLACE
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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008

ALL
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PAGES
– 2005
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Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 The World of Interiors, September 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
Los Angeles Times, Feb 28, 2009
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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Gloss Magazine, July 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Elle Décor, July 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Los Angeles Times Magazine, February 9, 2009
House & Garden, Apr. 2004 Heart of Glass
“I used to peek through the alley fence in my Dallas neighborhood and watch these guys blowing glass,” says artist Alison
Berger, who was a teenager at the time. “I was fascinated. They took me in and showed me how.” Berger likens the
New York Times, Home Design M., Fall 2001 process to “jumping off a diving board, catching a ball and throwing it to someone before you hit the water. There is an
Elle Magazine, Jul. 2000 incredible precision, timing and choreography involved in glassmaking.” While most blown glass is a simple extrusion,
Elle Décor, Sep. 1998 Berger’s innovative pieces are a complex fusion of blown and cast glass, often with an interior chamber. Three of her fused
pieces are included in the prestigious Corning Museum of Glass 20th century design collection in New York.
Axis, Sep. 1997 Memory is the theme that runs through the artist’s vessels as well as her lighting. Victorian fly traps, military hat forms and
The Daily Yomiuri Newspaper, Aug. 9 measuring devices are objects that have inspired her. “Conceptually, I look at forms used during different periods of history
In Style, Mar. 1997 and how they indicate the times in which people lived. I take the form and reinterpret it in glass, minus the decoration.”
Berger has created numerous pieces for film sets and music videos. For 1998’s “Practical Magic,” she devised a laboratory
of funnels, colanders and scales in which the film’s witches concoct potions. For the Madonna music video “Bedtime
Stories,” she created a futuristic glass IV. When Hermès commissioned Berger to design an oil and vinegar set three years
ALL PUBLICATIONS BY YEAR ago, she was inspired to create “Balance Line,” a collection of modern everyday objects such as salt and pepper shakers,
cereal bowls, cream and sugar holders, wine decanters and wine cups. “I wanted to create modern heirlooms – what my
great-granddaughter might collect in the middle of the 21st century.” – Barbara Thornburg
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PLACE
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ALL
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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008

PAGES
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+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 California Homes, February 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009

PLACE
American Craft, February/March 2009
Once Upon a Chair, Jan. 2009 The Very Bearable Lightness of Being
+ 2008
“The thread that runs through all my work is light,” Alison Berger explains. “How light is contained and captured and reflected
Town & Country, Oct. 2008 and refracted, disappearing as it gets darker, coming forward as perhaps a beam of sun comes through. That’s really the
Metropolitan Home, Sep. 2008 encapsulation of what weaves everything together.”
360, Summer 2008
Using glass as her primary medium and the past as her inspiration, the Los Angeles-based artist has explored her fascination
with light in a stunningly diverse and ever-evolving body of work-vases, sculptures, drawings, lighting, site installations.
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008 Blurring boundaries long before it became a trend, she’s moved easily and with considerable success between the worlds

ALL
Elle Décor Mar. 2008 of art, craft, design, architecture, fashion and film, with technical mastery and a sure vision as her constants. She draws
Western Interiors & Design, Jan. 2008 from myriad influences and eras – fourth-century Roman glass, baroque floral still lifes, old scientific instruments, her own
flea-market finds – to create timeless narratives. Whatever the scale or format, her objective remains the same: history
reinterpreted, concept distilled to essence.
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World of Interiors, Dec. 2001 Like her work, Berger radiates a refined complexity. A youthful 45, she’s slim and elegant, with a pared-down, unfussy
Metropolitan Home, Oct. 2007 personal style. Her manner combines the expansive friendliness of a native Texan, the energy and intellectual intensity of an
erstwhile New Yorker, and the mellow openness of the Angeleno she has been for some 15 years now.
World of Interiors, Jan. 2007 Living in L.A. she says, allows her to be consistently “enveloped in light.” Her studio, in a 1920s building in West Hollywood,
+ 2006 is white-walled and pristine yet warm and atmospheric, rich in architectural detail, a contemporary space redolent with

TEXT &
Wallpaper* On-line, Nov. 2006 vintage charm. All around the reception/office area are her vessels and objects – crammed in an antique cabinet or arranged
on tabletops, illuminated here and there by her light fixtures and by candles she likes to burn even on sunny Southern
California days, often to create a quiet mood when she’s drawing (“The power of lighting,” she observes, “is staggering”).
West - LA Times, Sep. 17, 2006 Upstairs is her immaculate work space, with drawing tables, models of work in progress, and a balcony overlooking a lushly
Los Angeles, Jul. 2006 overgrown courtyard, a palm tree, and beyond, postcard views of the Hollywood Hills.
She shows a visitor samples from her new collection of hand-blown crystal vessels for the L.A. design emporium Blackman
Cruz. They’re modern and deceptively simple, exquisitely evocative, heavy in more ways than one. Some give the illusion of
Metropolitan Home, Feb. 2006 being filled with water. One has a thick folding lip and number fragments etched onto it, suggesting an old beer bottle factory,
Design Lie Now, Jan. 2006 a faced label from days gone by. Another is etched with Da Vinci’s writing on water and how it flows. “They’re about a secret
– 2005 underneath, a little story, a message in a bottle,” Berger explains, picking up another, cloudy-looking pieces, “and here, the

PAGES
idea that there’s condensation on the glass.” Wait – that’s not real moisture? This reaction delights her. “No! It’s solid form.
I just finished the surface in a way that makes it look like it’s been taken out of the freezer. Isn’t that fun?”
La Home Design, Mar. 2005 Fun indeed, but Berger and her glassblowing team, with whom she works in her hot shop downtown, labor long and hard to
House Beautiful, Feb 2005 achieve this subtle magic. “The truth about any art and design is, it’s a discipline and you work at it every day,” she says.
“You have an assignment and you have to crack the code of it.” A strong work ethic has been key to her success, along with
+ 2004
instinct, initiative and a right place/right time embrace of opportunity.
California Home + Design, Sep. 2004 Berger began her odyssey as a teenager in Dallas. “So I’m riding my bike,” she recalls, “going down an alley, and I see
Angeleno, Sep. 2004 something through the fence and I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?’ I park my bike and literally hoist myself over the fence.
And there are these guys blowing glass.” Drawn to the fire, she learned the basics at this little shop, then a few years
later studied glass and architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. The RISD approach emphasized “ a collage of
Dwell, Apr. 2004 resources, an intellectual understanding of the history of art, and an academic understanding of how to reinterpret it in your
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Los Angeles Times, February 28, 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Once Upon a Chair, January 2009
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Town & Country, October 2008
House & Garden, Apr. 2004 Made to Order
Flaunt Magazine, Nov. 2001 Alison Berger’s architectural training, and an apprenticeship with glass master Dale Chihuly, taught her the captivating
New York Times, Home Design M., Fall 2001 power of light’s interaction with glass. The L.A.-based designer describes her work as “historic forms stripped down to their
essence,” a phrase that suits this pendant shade etched with translated writings of Leonardo da Vinci (right; to the trade,
$6,500). One recent commission incorporates photo “slides” into a chandelier (top right; price on request for similar work).
Elle Décor, Sep. 1998 323-650-5212; alisonbergerglassworks.com.
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
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Dwell, Apr. 2004
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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Metropolitan Home, September 2008
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 360, Summer 2008
House & Garden, Apr. 2004 Deep in the Art of L.A.
Los Angeles Times Magazine, Feb. 9 Light Fantastic
Alison Berger
An inverted lead crystal bell hangs from the ceiling; tight lines of etching circle the globe, adding a delicate texture to the
Elle Décor, Sep. 1998 slick surface. Flip the light switch, though, and you’re engulfed in a world of words, shadows cast onto the walls by the
Elle Decoration, Nov. 1997 etchings. The text is drawn from the sketchbooks of two masters, Leonardo da Vinci and the creator of the chandelier,
Axis, Sep. 1997 Alison Berger. Glass and light and shadow are the raw materials Berger has been molding into art for 25 years, as she
pushed the ancient craft of glassblowing into new sculptural realms. Her creations have been shown at New York’s Museum
of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial.
In Style, Mar. 1997
Interior Design, Jun. 1995 Berger has a studio in West Hollywood but creates her pieces in a gritty glassworks in Compton. The work is painstaking;
some commissioned chandeliers can take two years to complete and cost well into six figures. But she also sells hand-
blown objects in the $1,000 range through design stores in Los Angeles. Whether it’s commissioned or made-to-order for
ALL PUBLICATIONS BY YEAR the stores, the work is always signed by the artist. Etched, that is. alisonbergerglassworks.com – Lisa Rosen

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PAGES
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360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Interiors, June 2008
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


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Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
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Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Fulcrum, Jun 2008
This Los Angeles-based designer sheds light on glass.
Flaunt Magazine, Nov. 2001 Some like it hot. Alison Berger likes it at 2500 degrees: the temperature at which a glassworker’s furnace burns. As a
New York Times, Home Design M., Fall 2001 teenager in Dallas, Berger came across glassblowers working in a crafts shop, and was instantly mesmerized by the
technique. She studied historical glassblowing techniques at the Rhode Island School of Design, and later architecture
at Columbia University. Berger apprenticed with glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, and in her 25-year career has worked with
Elle Décor, Sep. 1998 architecture and design firms ranging from Frank O. Gehry and Associates to Roman & Williams, creating both lighting
Elle Decoration, Nov. 1997 designs and barware collections. As glass is a “fluid medium,” according to Berger, each of her works is by its nature unique.
Axis, Sep. 1997 She treasures such accidental variations as bubbles and warps. If there is a common thread to her pieces, it is, she says,
that “they feel like they have a history to them.” –Gregory Cerio
In Style, Mar. 1997


+ 2010
+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004




360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
Elle Décor, Nov. 2005 Elle Décor, March 2008
Axis, Sep. 1997
In Style, Mar. 1997


+ 2010
+ 2009
+ 2008
360, Summer 2008
Fulcrum, Jun. 2008
+ 2007
+ 2006
– 2005
+ 2004
Angeleno, Sep. 2004
Dwell, Apr. 2004
Agneleno, Mar. 2004

Alison Berger Glassworks objects lighting furniture commissions

Alison Berger Glassworks objects lighting furniture commissions

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Alison Berger Glassworks objects lighting furniture commissions