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Lino’s Dinos

October 19, 2025

By Louise Irvine

The Dinosaur Series is the most iconic group of glass sculptures by Lino Tagliapietra, the renowned Murano glass maestro. Recent acquisitions grace a new installation in the Hot Glass Gallery at WMODA and add to Lino’s story in our Fired Arts museum. Lino is widely recognized as the world’s greatest living glassblower, with a career spanning close to 80 years.

Lino retired to Murano in 2021 and celebrated his 91st birthday in August, but he continues to actively participate in exhibitions and events. Recently, the Lino Evergreen exhibition paid homage to the maestro’s career during this year’s Glass Month in Venice. Some of Lino’s dinosaurs emerged from the Venetian lagoon for the occasion and lurked in luxuriant foliage in this verdant show.

Lino was inspired by aquatic dinosaurs, which he considers strong but gentle creatures. In his words, “Since I live in a place surrounded by lagoons and water, fish and other aquatic creatures are inspirational to me. With this series, I have tried to integrate the strength of the dinosaur with the fluidity of the fish that inhabit the waters of Venice.” The elongated dinosaur forms feature graceful curves and swirling filigree decoration. In the final critical seconds of the glassblowing process, Lino stretches and twists the neck in an elegant movement that requires precision and experience.

Having been apprenticed to a glassblowing factory at the age of 11, Lino achieved great mastery over traditional Venetian techniques. His work often combines cane work using thin threads of glass, murrini tiles rolled into bubbles of molten glass, and cold-worked surface decorations, such as battuto, Italian for beaten.  In 1979, Lino was invited by Dale Chihuly to teach students at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. He mentored a generation of American studio glass artists, teaching them the centuries-old technical secrets of Muranese glassblowing.

Lino often gives his work evocative names as a tribute to joyful moments and experiences. He named the Bilbao series in 2001 after a visit to the iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The vessels are characterized by the optical illusions created by colored glass canes and multi-faceted surface carving. The Piccadilly series was inspired by his first visit to London, where he was captivated by the illuminated billboards and neon signs in Piccadilly Circus. His Contarini series is named after the Palazzo Contarini, home of one of Venice’s most distinguished families, and features transparent glass openings and glimpses through the vessel. His Aquilone series, which began in 2019, is named after the Italian word for kite, and features oval-shaped murine.

See the new acquisitions in the museum’s Hot Glass Gallery on your next visit. Discover more about Lino’s work at WMODA and trace his life and legacy, notably through the movie Sono Lino.

Sono Lino | Wiener Museum

Murano Maestro Lino Lagliapietra | Wiener Museum

Watch Lino make a dinosaur

Photographs courtesy of the Holsten Galleries, who have represented Lino Tagliapietra in the United States since 1987.