Dublin Arts Council welcomed glass artist Anthony Gelpi back to the Dublin Arts Center* this September. Gelpi returned to install an original work of art, a glass chandelier, in what was formerly the dining room of the 71-year-old home. Now used as a conference room, the space boasts a full mirror on one wall and an original custom mural, painted on canvas. Gelpi’s chandelier adds an artistic elegance to the historic space. Gelpi grew up visiting this home as a child when his grandmother, Eleanor Gelpi, an arts patron and enthusiast resided here. The building, now owned by the city of Dublin, was renovated and reopened as an arts center in 2002. Gelpi returned to the house to hold a solo exhibition in the gallery in 2008. Gelpi’s designs are inspired by some of the oldest glass studios in the world, yet are presented with contemporary form and vision to create a convergence of purity and beauty in the modern shapes of the vessels he creates.
A full-time studio artist, Gelpi has been working with glass since 1996. He has studied at many glass schools and exhibited internationally and in many prominent galleries across the U.S.
*Dublin Arts Center is recognized as the Eleanor A. Gelpi mansion on the National Register of Historic Places.
