Debora Moore
Debora Moore has been an instructor at Pilchuck, Pratt, and the Hilltop Artist-in-Residence Program in Tacoma, WA. In 1998, she was accepted as a member in the African American Design Archive at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Her work was included in the Artistry of Orchids exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC in 2000. Her solo exhibition, Natural Reflections, opened in 2005 at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, followed by a residency at the Museum. In 2005, she was also awarded artist-in-residence at the Abate Zanetti School in Murano, Italy.
Debora was awarded the Rakow Commission in 2007, with inclusion in the permanent collection at the Corning Museum of Glass, and participated in Corning’s Meet the Artist podcast series. In 2009 she was selected to exhibit at the 9th Northwest Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum. She participated in a group show, Flora, at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark, in 2010. Her work was exhibited in the group exhibition, Convergence Zone, at the Bellevue Art Museum in 2011. Debora installed a solo show, Collectanea Botanica – Orchidaceae, at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, and exhibited at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. The April 2012 opening coincided with a residency awarded to her by the museum. This year the Northwest African American Museum opened a solo exhibition of Debora work in Seattle, Washington.
The list of Debora's professional travels grows by the year and covers several continents. Most recently she was awarded an artist residency at the Niijima Glass Center in Niijima, Japan for the 27th Annual Glass Festival. She has researched moss and lichen in Antarctica, observed orchids in tropical rainforests in Asia, examining how these plants live in their natural environment. She combines realism and imagination in her sculpture, meditating on the glorious wonder of nature and celebrating its power and mystery.
In 2019, at the Tacoma Museum of Art, four full-scale, all-glass trees of Debora Moore’s Arboria, were first installed in a darkened section of gallery space creating an enchanted forest. Drawing from bonsai aesthetics, each sculpture represents a different season, as their roots emerge from stones to emphasize the resilience of nature. This exhibition traveled to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in September of 2020.
EDUCATION
1995 Pino Signoretto, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1992 Ruth King, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1990 Paul DeSomma, Henner Schroeder, John DeWitt, Pilchuck Glass
Awards/Collections
2012 Crocker Art Museum, permanent collection, Sacramento, CA
Chrysler Museum of Art, permanent collection, Norfolk, VA
2007 Rakow Commission, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
35th International Glass Invitational, Critics Award, Royal Oak, MI
Corning Museum of Glass, Meet The Artist Podcast, Corning, NY
2005 Tacoma Museum of Glass, - Artist in Residence, Tacoma WA
Neues Glas, Winter 2005, Artist Portrait Article
2005 Abate Zanetti - Artist in Residence, Murano Venezia Italy
2004 Muskegon Museum of Art - Permanent collection, Muskegon, MI
Harbourfront Centre, Flora - the ubiquity of nature, Visiting Artist, Toronto Canada
2002 PhilanderSmith College, Donald W. Reynolds Library & Technology Center, Permanent
Collection, Little Rock, Arkansas
2001 Jon and Mary Shirley Collection, Seattle, WA
1990, ‘92, ‘95 Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1998 African American Design Archive, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2019 Arboria, Benaroya Wing, Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, WA
2016 Fragile Legacy, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
Hot Spot, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
Naples Collects, The Baker Museum, Naples, FL
2015 Indigo Blue Art, Orchidarium, Singapore
Northwest African American Museum, Glass Orchidarium, Seattle, WA
2012 Franklin Park Conservatory, Collectanea Botanica – Orchidaceae, Columbus, OH
Chrysler Museum of Glass, Works by Debora Moore, Norfolk, VA
Fifty by Fifty: Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Studio Glass, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, FL
Evolution/Revolution: 50 Years of American Studio Glass, Naples Art Museum, Naples, FL
50 Years of Studio Glass, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2011 Convergence Zone, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
2010 Flora – The Botanical Experience, Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Denmark
2009 9th Northwest Biennial, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
All in the Family, Suffolk Center, Suffolk, VA
Orchid Mania, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland, OH
2008 Glorious Glass: Translucent & Opaque The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2006 Tacoma Museum of Glass, Fresh! Contemporary takes on Nature, Tacoma, WA
2005 Museum of Glass, Reflections on Nature, Tacoma, WA
2004 Glass Art Society, GAS Conference 2004, New Orleans, LA
Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Glorious Glass: Color & Form, Seattle Tacoma Airport, Seattle, WA
2001 Butler Institute of American Art, Winter Orchidarium, Youngstown, OH
2000 Smithsonian Institution, Artistry of Orchids, Washington DC Debora Moore has been an instructor at Pilchuck, Pratt, and the Hilltop Artist-in-Residence Program in Tacoma, WA. In 1998, she was accepted as a member in the African American Design Archive at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Her work was included in the Artistry of Orchids exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC in 2000. Her solo exhibition, Natural Reflections, opened in 2005 at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, followed by a residency at the Museum. In 2005, she was also awarded artist-in-residence at the Abate Zanetti School in Murano, Italy.
Debora was awarded the Rakow Commission in 2007, with inclusion in the permanent collection at the Corning Museum of Glass, and participated in Corning’s Meet the Artist podcast series. In 2009 she was selected to exhibit at the 9th Northwest Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum. She participated in a group show, Flora, at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark, in 2010. Her work was exhibited in the group exhibition, Convergence Zone, at the Bellevue Art Museum in 2011. Debora installed a solo show, Collectanea Botanica – Orchidaceae, at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, and exhibited at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. The April 2012 opening coincided with a residency awarded to her by the museum. This year the Northwest African American Museum opened a solo exhibition of Debora work in Seattle, Washington.
The list of Debora's professional travels grows by the year and covers several continents. Most recently she was awarded an artist residency at the Niijima Glass Center in Niijima, Japan for the 27th Annual Glass Festival. She has researched moss and lichen in Antarctica, observed orchids in tropical rainforests in Asia, examining how these plants live in their natural environment. She combines realism and imagination in her sculpture, meditating on the glorious wonder of nature and celebrating its power and mystery.
EDUCATION
1995 Pino Signoretto, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1992 Ruth King, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1990 Paul DeSomma, Henner Schroeder, John DeWitt, Pilchuck Glass
Awards/Collections
2012 Crocker Art Museum, permanent collection, Sacramento, CA
Chrysler Museum of Art, permanent collection, Norfolk, VA
2007 Rakow Commission, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
35th International Glass Invitational, Critics Award, Royal Oak, MI
Corning Museum of Glass, Meet The Artist Podcast, Corning, NY
2005 Tacoma Museum of Glass, - Artist in Residence, Tacoma WA
Neues Glas, Winter 2005, Artist Portrait Article
2005 Abate Zanetti - Artist in Residence, Murano Venezia Italy
2004 Muskegon Museum of Art - Permanent collection, Muskegon, MI
Harbourfront Centre, Flora - the ubiquity of nature, Visiting Artist, Toronto Canada
2002 PhilanderSmith College, Donald W. Reynolds Library & Technology Center, Permanent
Collection, Little Rock, Arkansas
2001 Jon and Mary Shirley Collection, Seattle, WA
1990, ‘92, ‘95 Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1998 African American Design Archive, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2016 Fragile Legacy, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
Hot Spot, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
Naples Collects, The Baker Museum, Naples, FL
2015 Indigo Blue Art, Orchidarium, Singapore
Northwest African American Museum, Glass Orchidarium, Seattle, WA
2012 Franklin Park Conservatory, Collectanea Botanica – Orchidaceae, Columbus, OH
Chrysler Museum of Glass, Works by Debora Moore, Norfolk, VA
Fifty by Fifty: Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Studio Glass, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, FL
Evolution/Revolution: 50 Years of American Studio Glass, Naples Art Museum, Naples, FL
50 Years of Studio Glass, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2011 Convergence Zone, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
2010 Flora – The Botanical Experience, Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Denmark
2009 9th Northwest Biennial, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
All in the Family, Suffolk Center, Suffolk, VA
Orchid Mania, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland, OH
2008 Glorious Glass: Translucent & Opaque The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2006 Tacoma Museum of Glass, Fresh! Contemporary takes on Nature, Tacoma, WA
2005 Museum of Glass, Reflections on Nature, Tacoma, WA
2004 Glass Art Society, GAS Conference 2004, New Orleans, LA
Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Glorious Glass: Color & Form, Seattle Tacoma Airport, Seattle, WA
2001 Butler Institute of American Art, Winter Orchidarium, Youngstown, OH
2000Smithsonian Institution, Artistry of Orchids, Washington DCDebora Moore has been an instructor at Pilchuck, Pratt, and the Hilltop Artist-in-Residence Program in Tacoma, WA. In 1998, she was accepted as a member in the African American Design Archive at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Her work was included in the Artistry of Orchids exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC in 2000. Her solo exhibition, Natural Reflections, opened in 2005 at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, followed by a residency at the Museum. In 2005, she was also awarded artist-in-residence at the Abate Zanetti School in Murano, Italy.
Debora was awarded the Rakow Commission in 2007, with inclusion in the permanent collection at the Corning Museum of Glass, and participated in Corning’s Meet the Artist podcast series. In 2009 she was selected to exhibit at the 9th Northwest Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum. She participated in a group show, Flora, at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark, in 2010. Her work was exhibited in the group exhibition, Convergence Zone, at the Bellevue Art Museum in 2011. Debora installed a solo show, Collectanea Botanica – Orchidaceae, at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, and exhibited at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. The April 2012 opening coincided with a residency awarded to her by the museum. This year the Northwest African American Museum opened a solo exhibition of Debora work in Seattle, Washington.
The list of Debora's professional travels grows by the year and covers several continents. Most recently she was awarded an artist residency at the Niijima Glass Center in Niijima, Japan for the 27th Annual Glass Festival. She has researched moss and lichen in Antarctica, observed orchids in tropical rainforests in Asia, examining how these plants live in their natural environment. She combines realism and imagination in her sculpture, meditating on the glorious wonder of nature and celebrating its power and mystery.
EDUCATION
1995 Pino Signoretto, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1992 Ruth King, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1990 Paul DeSomma, Henner Schroeder, John DeWitt, Pilchuck Glass
Awards/Collections
2012 Crocker Art Museum, permanent collection, Sacramento, CA
Chrysler Museum of Art, permanent collection, Norfolk, VA
2007 Rakow Commission, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
35th International Glass Invitational, Critics Award, Royal Oak, MI
Corning Museum of Glass, Meet The Artist Podcast, Corning, NY
2005 Tacoma Museum of Glass, - Artist in Residence, Tacoma WA
Neues Glas, Winter 2005, Artist Portrait Article
2005 Abate Zanetti - Artist in Residence, Murano Venezia Italy
2004 Muskegon Museum of Art - Permanent collection, Muskegon, MI
Harbourfront Centre, Flora - the ubiquity of nature, Visiting Artist, Toronto Canada
2002 PhilanderSmith College, Donald W. Reynolds Library & Technology Center, Permanent
Collection, Little Rock, Arkansas
2001 Jon and Mary Shirley Collection, Seattle, WA
1990, ‘92, ‘95 Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA
1998 African American Design Archive, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2016 Fragile Legacy, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
Hot Spot, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
Naples Collects, The Baker Museum, Naples, FL
2015 Indigo Blue Art, Orchidarium, Singapore
Northwest African American Museum, Glass Orchidarium, Seattle, WA
2012 Franklin Park Conservatory, Collectanea Botanica – Orchidaceae, Columbus, OH
Chrysler Museum of Glass, Works by Debora Moore, Norfolk, VA
Fifty by Fifty: Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Studio Glass, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, FL
Evolution/Revolution: 50 Years of American Studio Glass, Naples Art Museum, Naples, FL
50 Years of Studio Glass, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2011 Convergence Zone, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
2010 Flora – The Botanical Experience, Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Denmark
2009 9th Northwest Biennial, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
All in the Family, Suffolk Center, Suffolk, VA
Orchid Mania, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland, OH
2008 Glorious Glass: Translucent & Opaque The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2006 Tacoma Museum of Glass, Fresh! Contemporary takes on Nature, Tacoma, WA
2005 Museum of Glass, Reflections on Nature, Tacoma, WA
2004 Glass Art Society, GAS Conference 2004, New Orleans, LA
Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Glorious Glass: Color & Form, Seattle Tacoma Airport, Seattle, WA
2001 Butler Institute of American Art, Winter Orchidarium, Youngstown, OH
2000Smithsonian Institution, Artistry of Orchids, Washington DC
Cherry, 2019
Blown and sculpted glass, found stone, 90 x 28 x 20”
Image from installation at the Tacoma Museum of Art, currently on exhibition at the Renwick in July, 2020. Used with permission from the artist.
Wisteria, 2019
Blown and sculpted glass, found stone, 93 x 86 x 36”
Winter Plum, 2019
Blown and sculpted glass, found stone, 72 x 101 x 23”
Magnolia, 2019
Blown and sculpted glass, found stone, 104 x 112 x 30”
Magnolia Tree