Toyama Glass Art Museum：
Collection Exhibition
Weaving Glass, Knitting Hearts
Since antiquity we have been knitting or braiding threads together into forms, and crossing them over and under each other to weave cloth. These are techniques for the production of clothing and household items and simultaneously, fundamental, ingenious means to shape our world. Both entwining individual strands to produce an organically expanding whole, and making fibers intersect vertically and horizontally to form a stable surface, represent structure, and the process of generation.
This exhibition revisits the expressive material possibilities of glass via works from the Toyama Glass Art Museum collection, selected with such knitting and weaving in mind. From lace glass that spreads in the manner of a color palette knitted together, to works that construct spaces through the layering of lines, and fragments that when combined take on a garment-like appearance, the pieces here do not merely display technical skill, but reflect how manmade objects have come to be, and to resonate with our ideas and sense of relationality.
When a material like glass, outwardly cold and hard, is knitted or woven together, what arises may well be “making” at its most primeval. In this exhibition, we turn our gaze to various types of knitting and weaving to present the thoughts and emotions infusing new looks for glass, and new works in glass. We invite you to experience the rich diversity of the Toyama Glass Art Museum collection.
Toyama Glass Art Museum, 4th Floor Exhibition Room 4 & Transparent Storage
Saturday, 6 June–Sunday, 29 November 2026
9:30–18:00 (Last entry 17:30)
First and third wednesday of each month (except 2 September), 9 September 2026.
Toyama Glass Art Museum
Admission
General: ¥200
Groups (20+): ¥170
Free: High school students and younger
•Tickets include access to the Glass Art Garden (6F)
•Special Exhibition tickets also include same-day access to the Collection Exhibition (4F) and the Glass Art Garden (6F)
Extracted works and Artists
Toots ZYNSKY, Marino, 2007; ENAMI Fujiko, Fire, 2014; Lino TAGLIAPIETRA, Africa, 2014; GONJO Mafune, Scent of mist, 2017; TAKEOKA Kensuke, Line transition ’21, 2021; YASUDA Taizo, Koshino Ao Glass Bowl with Reticello Design, 2023 and other works from the collection of Toyama Glass Art Museum
Sections
Section 1｜Knitting color
Expression that involves layering and combining glass in linear or granular states resembles the knitting together of strands, or the woven structure of fabric. This section presents the multitude of rhythms and the many facets of light generated by combining color and form; from intricate mesh patterns with a lineage that can be traced to the glass of ancient Rome, to pulsating stripes, and twill patterns, rendered in colored plate glass or by cutting, and mosaic glass vessels made by joining tiny glass pieces each with its own vibrant design.
Section 2｜Glass as thread
Glass melted and stretched eventually turns into fibers or thin rods manifesting as “threads” traversing space. This section features forms that call to mind actual threads or reels, and works in which glass fibers or fine glass canes are combined, lines accumulating and twisting to build a structure. The ambiguous nature of a material that appears hard, yet with layering and repetition acquires a pliable volume and rhythm, conjures up new and intriguing aspects of glass.
Section 3｜Weaving thoughts and emotions
Glass canes and pieces crossed and joined evolve into structures reminiscent of mesh, or the shapes of garments. When different fragments connect, all the while maintaining a tension between them, a relationship is born. Viewing such acts of “knitting” and “weaving” as practices transcending the mere joining of materials, this section turns its attention to works in which memories and thoughts take on tangible form. Also featured are works in which the putatively rigid material of glass, metamorphoses into forms that call to mind the graceful delicacy of fabric.
All the works on this page are collection of Toyama Glass Art Museum
*Reproduction of photos are prohibited.
Access
○20-minute walk.
○Take the tram (Shinaidensha) for Minamitoyamaeki-mae. Get off at Nishicho. 1-minute walk.
○Take the Loop Line tram (Shinaidensha Kanjō-sen). Get off at Grand Plaza-mae. 2-minute walk. (Tram takes approx. 10 minutes from Toyama Sta. to Nishicho/Grand Plaza-mae.)
○Take the Airport Bus to Toyama Station (Airport Express Bus/Local Bus (Route no.36)) and get off at Sogawa. 4-minute walk.
〒930-0062
5-1 Nishicho, Toyama City, Toyama 930-0062, Japan
TEL 076-461-3100
FAX 076-461-3310
https://www.toyama-glass-art-museum.jp/en/
