Barry R. Sautner has been carving and experimenting with glass since 1979. With the encouragement of Dr. and Mrs. Leonard S. Rakow of New York City, two of America’s premier collectors, lecturers, and leading authorities on cameo glass, Barry has created a variety of astoundingly beautiful and intricate carvings. His three dimensional approach to cameo glass carving results in such striking realism that all that went before appears flat. He has mastered the difficult art of undercutting to the extent of creating a complete diatreta, which consists of an open lattice work design that is completely undercut with the exception of a few posts that keep the design connected to the inner vessel. Feeling that even these posts detracted from the overall design, Barry took this process a step further and developed a method of carving diatreta that is devoid of any post structure. The diatreta design is connected to the inner vessel by means of leaves, flowers, and the like, creating a homogeneous whole. In 1987, Barry was credited with having been the first person to create a double cage cup similar to those made in ancient times, but having two layers of circles instead of one. He has also developed a totally new technique termed “insculpture”, which consists of creating a three dimensional design within a crystal paperweight by carving through small openings at the base. Themes in his work range from a stunning reflection of nature and classical forms to more current topics such as the Holocaust, aging, modern communications, and contemporary living and loving. Barry’s work has been displayed at a variety of museums and galleries, and his work is part of the permanent collections of the BERGSTROM-MAHLER MUSEUM, THE BIRKS MUSEUM, THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN GLASS and THE NEWARK MUSEUM, as well as many private collections. He was also one of two living artists to be shown in “Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2,000 Years of Glassmaking” which was sponsored by THE CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS in 1982. In addition, a number of art publications have also featured his work.
