Twists and Turns

All the qualities that made lucite a beguiling material in the 1960s and 70s—lightness, both visual and literal, a touch of glamour—remain true today. The California-born glass artist Dorothy Thorpe was something of a pioneer in the use of lucite (the material is, more accurately, acrylic; lucite is the trademark name coined by DuPont), experimenting with the stuff as far back as 1941.

Unlike her Mid-Century contemporaries, though, Thorpe exchanged hard-edged geometry for free-form, amorphous compositions: knotted, twisted, spiraling tubing that, even today, looks technologically advanced. Much of Thorpe’s earlier glasswork was characterized by Art Nouveau-influenced floral motifs. But by the 1970′s, and evidenced by these graceful pieces, she smartly traded in bells and whistles for pure, sculptural elegance.

Photo credits: Wright20 ; 1stdibs