Toots Zynsky is an internationally renowned American glass artist, celebrated for her innovative and expressive use of colour and form.
Deeply inspired by her lifelong love of music and dance, Zynsky’s distinctive vessels are visual symphonies, harmonious expressions of rhythm, movement, and melodic colour. Her works evoke an almost orchestral quality, where hue, texture, and form seem to pulse with life.
Born in 1951 in Massachusetts, Zynsky studied fine art at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she was mentored by pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly. In 1971, shortly after graduating, she joined Chihuly and fellow RISD alumni in Washington State to co-found the now-legendary Pilchuk Glass School, which became a crucible for innovation in the contemporary glass movement.
Zynsky’s career has been shaped by extensive international experience. She spent over a decade living and working in Europe, including time in Paris and Amsterdam, where she refined her practice and developed her signature technique known as filet de verre (glass thread). This process involves fusing hundreds of fine glass threads into pliable sheets, which are then formed into vessels through a complex sequence of heat and hand-shaping. The results are richly textured, vividly coloured pieces that appear almost organic, simultaneously delicate and dynamic, fluid and sculptural.
Her travels also took her to West Africa, where she was profoundly influenced by the region’s music, textiles, and craft traditions, all of which informed the rhythmic sensibility and bold palettes of her later works.
Zynsky returned to the United States in 1999, establishing her studio in Providence, Rhode Island, where she continues to live and work. Her artistic achievements have earned her numerous accolades and commissions, including the design of the Olympic torch for the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City. In recognition of her contributions to the field of contemporary glass, she was awarded the Smithsonian Visionary Award in 2015.
Today, Zynsky’s work can be found in major museum collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Her practice remains a testament to the expressive potential of glass and to the deep interplay between visual art and music.
