Christopher Ries was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1952. He studied with Harvey Littleton in the 1970s at the University of Wisconsin, where he received his MFA in glass. After a few years of experimentation with glassblowing, he discovered his true direction in working with clear, optical glass.

Unlike most glass artists, Ries neither blows nor laminates glass. Rather, he works in the traditional reductive sculptural mode, starting with a block of solid optical glass and reducing it to his desired form. His luminous works are characterized by their technical perfection and the seemingly magical, ever-changing optical patterns within them. His sculptures range from a few inches high to life-size.

EDUCATION

1978 - Master of Fine Arts in glass, University of Wisconsin, Madison

1975 - Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics and glass, The Ohio State University

Awards

2005 Artist as Hero, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Distinguished Artist Award, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1990 Ohioana Citation for Distinguished Service to Ohio in the Field of Art.

1978-79 Aid to Individual Artists Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council

1974-75 Leo Yassenoff Scholarship

Selected Collections

American Ceramic Society, Ohio

Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio

Columbus Airport, Ohio

Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio

Contemporary Arts and Crafts Museum and Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida

Corning Museum of Glass

Goodyear Collection

Governor’s Residence, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Indianapolis Art Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana

Muncie Public Library, Muncie, Indiana

Museum of American Glass, Wheaton Village, Millville, New Jersey

The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana

Otto Schott Centrum, Mainz, Germany

The Patrick Lannon Foundation, Florida

Smart Gallery, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

The University of Central Florida, Orlando Florida

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH