Richard Satava: Art Glass That is Out of This World

Do you recognize this jellyfish?

You may have noticed two similar sculptures featured in Marvel Comic's recent film Guardians of the Galaxy.

If you can't recall seeing them among the array of art glass on display during the broker scenes on Xander, be sure to look for these pieces the next time you watch the movie (they are on the left side of the broker's desk). The Magnum Moon Jellyfish and Purple Ribbed Jellyfish featured in the film are show stoppers!

image via: toddalcott.com

Richard Satava is the artist who creates these incredible works of blown glass as head of the team of artisans at Satava Art Glass Studio in Chico, CA.

Photo of the artist at work, via: satava.com

In the late 1980’s his imagination was captivated by the hundreds of pacific jellyfish afloat in an exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He would spend the next three years on a journey of experimentation, playing with layers of translucent color and an age-old, glass-in-glass technique. After much trial and error, he finally produced a jellyfish sculpture, encapsulated in a clear glass shroud, that was both lifelike and out-of-this-world in its beauty and realism. By 1990 he was able to begin selling these sculptures to the public. Today their legacy endures as one of his glass blowing studio's most popular product lines.

Sea Nettle Jellyfish swimming in an open water exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

image via: montereybayaquarium.org

Our Auction is proud to have offered many pieces of Satava glass for sale over the years, to include this jellyfish sculpture. This piece sold for the realized price of $1,100 on February 28th, 2012.

via: liveauctioneers.com

Another marine-themed Satava paperweight recently sold at our Auction for $110 on November, 21st, 2017.

Here is a closer look at the microcosmic coral reef contained within.

Richard Satava and his fellow artisans create a variety of other objects including pieces such as this beautiful landscape vase. This vase, entitled "Yellowstone", depicts a forest fire blaze with heat so intense, the conifers burn with white flame and are turned to cinder against a blood red sky. It sold for the realized price of $400 on November 21st, 2017.

Our newest offering of Satava art glass will be up for auction at our February 20th, 2018 premier sale. Lot 2105 is another landscape vase. It's decoration is evocative of a walk through a winter wood, tree limbs encased in crystalline splendor, silence except for warm breathe and snowfall.