Paul Cunningham

Paul Cunningham began his career in glass in 1986 at The Glass Eye in Seattle, Washington. He later worked in Dale Chihuly’s studio as one of the lead gaffers. While working with Chihuly, he began a collaborative relationship with Benjamin Moore, founder of B.M.I studios.

Between these two key relationships, and his experience studying at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the Pilchuck Glass School, Cunningham learned from many great glass artists including Lino Tagliapietra, Dan Dailey, Dante Marioni, Preston Singletary and Robbie Miller. Studying with all of these distinguished artists provided him with a unique opportunity to gain a broad base of technical skills from which to develop his own artistic practice.

From 2002 – 2008, he established and managed Cunningham Glass hot shop. This space was unique in that it offered shared studio time and materials on an hourly basis with artists from across the Northwest. While choosing to close the studio to focus on collaborative projects in the Greater Seattle Area in 2008, Cunningham has never stopped creating and showing his glass across the United States. Cunningham continues to teach technique and concept design throughout the United States, Asia and Europe and maintained a working relationship with Chihuly in both on-staff and consultative roles.

Selected Exhibitions

2001

• Lino Tagliapietra e Amici, Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, Massachusetts

1995-2000

• The Pilchuck Exhibition, Sea Tac International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington

1998

• Venezia Aperto Vetro, International New Glass, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy

1997

• The Society of Arts and Crafts Centennial Education Exhibition, Boston, Massachusetts

• Young Glass 1997, International Competition, Finalist, The Glass Museum, Ebeltoft,

Denmark

1996

• Pacific Northwest Annual, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington

1992

• American Craft Museum, New York City, New York