Featured Glass Artist: Joseph Cavalieri

Rethinking and Reviving Stained Glass Art

Joseph Cavalieri’s glass art is at the intersection of mystical and post-cultural. His beautifully stained and painted pieces are at once an homage to traditionally religious stained glass art and a cheeky discussion about the pop culture we know and love.

His work spearheads a new school of stained glass art, one where the melancholy of stained glass images intermingle with lighthearted pop art. He is a pioneer in the movement to take stained glass art out of the church and into everyday life.

Expect the Unexpected When You See Cavalieri’s Work

In his work the unexpected reigns, and even the smallest of details are rich with graphic texture, religious symbolism, and geometric delight.

From using The Simpsons characters in stained glass panels, to serving up chandeliers of glass eggs sunny-side-up, there’s no telling what humorous and ever-so-subtly disturbing turn he might take in his work.

His glass art actively works to remove the religious stigmas of stained glass art. By dislodging one of our favorite artforms from the confines of history, he is reinvigorating an old art. His work isn’t afraid to be playful and dense all at once, and we love him for it.

A Little Bit Graphic Design, a Little Bit Fine Art

Cavalieri, probably much like you, wasn’t always a renowned glass artist. Joseph’s work has been hung in major museums. But, he began it all as a graphic designer, art directing for magazines like GQ and People.

His work incorporates the elements of collage and sketch. He might have learned over his career, before finally launching his glass art career full-time. The lines and patterns on his coveted panels are a testament to centuries of print, remixed in an entirely new kind of way.