Tom Patti
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- Also known as
- Thomas Patti
- Born
- Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States
- Active in
- Plainfield, Massachusetts, United States
- Biography
Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Tom Patti earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in industrial design in 1967 and 1969 respectively at Pratt Institute School of Art and Design in Brooklyn, New York. In 1969 he studied perception theory with Rudolph Arnheim at the New School for Social Research in New York and the following year studied glass at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.
Since childhood, Patti has been blind in one eye, which has contributed to his interest in perception. His fascination with art and science is expressed in glass by creating spatial voids and depth to manipulate scale and perception. Patti works glass in an inventive and distinctive manner to create exquisitely precise vessel-oriented forms. Despite their small size, Patti's sculptures have a commanding presence.
Kenneth R. Trapp and Howard Risatti Skilled Work: American Craft in the Renwick Gallery (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998)