Ioan Nemtoi, the Romanian glass artist creates extraordinary, brilliant, decorative glass vessels.

Their shapes and large size make them stand out considerably from that of other glass artists.

His hand-blown glass vases, bowls and other dimensional pieces are unique and compelling.  Their unusual forms seem to dance, displaying a fluidity that represents the molten state that is now frozen into beautiful sculptures of captivating color and form.

Ioan Nemtoi was born in North-Eastern Romania in 1964 as the eldest son of a large farming family.  “My interest in shapes and for creating began at a very young age.  I remember when I had to tend the sheep at a home when I was 7-8 years old.  I was very bored so I let the sheep graze near a lake where I knew there was some good clay and this is where I made my first creations.  When I came home my father was angry because the sheep had not had enough grass to eat.”

When Nemtoi was in the 5th grade one of his teachers noticed his artistic talent and sent him to an art school.  Later he continued in high school as an art major, working primarily with clay and metal.  During his 6 years of study in the Academy of Art in Bucharest a teacher introduced him to glass art.  In 1995 he started his first glass studio in his native town, not just because of its fine sand, but because he wanted to bring life and prosperity back to this remote town. 

Today that studio employs 20 people with a blast furnace that runs 24 hours a day creating his designs.  His works are now selling all over Europe and the U.S., being shown in major art exhibitions and private collections.  He has his own gallery in SoHo and his works have been donated by Romania to the Vatican and Unicef Headquarters in New York.

Nemtoi’s designs are contemporary and compelling.  It is the brilliance of color and design that are most captivating in viewing the decorative glass creations.  Their large size, some up to two-feet tall, make them even more notable as strong visual attractions.

Nemtoi’s spectacular designs and rich colors are unique in the world of art glass.  From large oval shapes to his popular wavy bowls, each is unique and a signature of Nemtoi’s creativity.

Pentru un interviu complet cu artistul Ioan Nemtoi, printre putinele acordate in Romania, va invit sa cititi: http://razvandinu.ro/2009/05/13/ioan-nemtoi-sculptorul-in-sticla.html