Glasstress, an official exhibition of the 53rd Venice Biennale, celebrated the use of glass in contemporary art. Presented in the historic Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti at the Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti from June 6 - November 22, 2009, Glasstress featured both specially commissioned new work and selected pieces by over forty modern and contemporary artists. The exhibition explored each artist's unique approach to working with the glass, the technical limits inherent in the material, and the synthesis between the artist's ideas and the glass master's skills. The U.S. glass and glazing work industry includes roughly 4,700 establishments according to the latest figures available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Most of these firms employ less than 10 workers, and the total employee count for this industry ranges from 35,000 to 40,000. According to an April 2002 issue of Glass Magazine.
