Biography
Originally a painter, Veruska Vagen spent years living in the Southwest where she maintained a studio and worked in oil, watercolor and mixed media. The course of Vagen's life changed when her glass enamel work brought her to the renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Vagen moved to Stanwood in 1993 and served 12 years with the William Morris Studio, during which time she developed a unique mosaic technique called dot de verre.
In the rich tradition of ancient mosaics, Vagen's current work focuses on the portrait in a contemporary fused glass format. Inspired by art history, an intriguing visage or compelling character, she sees the individual countenance as offering a timeless form of communication and relationship. Vagen states: "The emotional vocabulary of faces remains unchanging over time, a shared language that gives a gift of enabling us to recognize ourselves in each other."
Vagen's work is found in many notable private collections in the US and abroad. In 2003, a retrospective exhibition of her portraits, "Fabulous Faces," was held at the Century Square in Seattle, Washington.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Pilchuck Glass School
Northern Arizona University, BFA
University of Colorado
SCHOLARSHIPS/GRANTS
Full Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School
Full Scholarship, Allerton Park/University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
TEACHING/PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS
2000-Present U.S. Facilitator for Hiroshi Yamano
1994-2006 Archivist - William Morris Studio
1993-1995 Studio Coordinator - Pilchuck Glass School
1992 Assistant to Artist in Residence Jana Sterbak - Pilchuck Glass School
1990 Teaching Assistant to Dan Dailey - Pilchuck Glass School
1989 Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences - Guest Instructor / Artist in Residence
Teaching Assistant to Keke Cribbs - Pilchuck Glass School
1987 Teaching Assistant to Susan Shapiro - Pilchuck Glass School
1980-1989 Adjunct Faculty - College of Art & Design Northern Arizona University
1980-1994 Mars Hill Visual Arts Consortium, Charter Member, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ
AWARDS
2002 Special Recognition Award, Spiritual III International Art Exhibition, Period Gallery, Omaha, NE
2001 Jurors' Award, National Christian Art Exhibition, Farmington, NM
Best of Show, Second International Christian Art Exhibition, Seaside Gallery, Nags Head, NC
2000 People's Choice, Special Group & Jurors' Awards, National Christian Art Exhibition, Farmington, NM
1999 Nomination, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award
1992 Jurors' Award of Merit, Westmoreland Art Nationals, Greensburg, PA
1991 First Place, Feet of Glass, National Competition, Baltimore, MD
1990 Nomination, Saxe Award, Pilchuck Glass School
1989 Jurors' Award, The Fine Art Of Craft, Tohono Chul Exhibition Hall, Tucson, AZ
1988 Jurors' Award, Humor in Art, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ
Jurors' Award, Fusion í88, National Competition
1987 Critics' Choice Award, Contemporary Glass Artists Southwestern, Galeria Mesa, Mesa, AZ
1986 Special Mention Awards, The Best Glass of 1986, National Competition
1982 Jurors' Award, Second Annual Glass Exhibit, Sedona, AZ
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011 Clear and Present, Group Glass Exhibition, LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Two Person Show, Idriss New Glass and Photography Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Eyes for Glass: The Price Collection, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
SOFA New York with Duane Reed Gallery, NY
Glass Quake, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
2009 Enduring Grace, Solo Exhibition, Davis and Cline Gallery, Ashland OR
SOFA Exposition, Duane Reed Gallery, Chicago, IL
Matzke Fine Art, Camano Island, WA
2008 Glorious Glass: Translucent and Opaque, The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2007 Timeless Faces, Solo Exhibition, Davis and Cline Gallery, Ashland, OR
Behind Glass: Creativity and Collaboration, The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2006 It's All About Beads, Pismo Fine Art, Denver, CO
2005 Multiplicity: Glass in All Its Glory, Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, WA
2004 Pixelated, Heller Gallery, New York, New York
The Havery Collection: International Glass, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AB
2003 Fabulous Faces, Solo Retrospective Exhibition, Century Square, Seattle, WA
2+2=Art: The Art of Mathematics, Arts Council of Snohomish County, Everett, WA
Glorious Glass: Color & Form, Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, WA
2002 Pilchuck Glass School At 30, Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, WA
Venice International Art Biennial, Venice, Italy
2001 Jubilee Christian Art Show, Art & Cultural Center, Falbrook, CA
National Christian Art Exhibition, San Juan College,Farmington, NM (Award)
2000 Spiritual III, International Art Exhibition, Period Gallery, Omaha, NE (Award)
Chaos Theory, Milan Art Center, Milan, Italy
Second International Christian Art Exhibition, Seaside Gallery, Nags Head, NC (Award)
National Christian Art Exhibition, San Juan College, Farmington, NM (Award)
Creativity & Collaboration Pilchuck Exhibition, Seattle Center, Seattle, WA
Glass at the Millennium, Sea-Tac International Airport Seattle, WA
Faces, Verizon Exhibit, Bellevue, WA
1999 2nd Macedonian Visual Poetry Festival, Gallery Marko Cepenkov, Prilep, Macedonia
The End is Near, Charles A. Wustum Museum of Art, Racine, WI
Clearly Magic, Port Angeles Museum of Art, Port Angeles, WA
Pilchuck Exhibition, Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, WA
SOFA Exhibit, Chicago, IL, with Mobilia Gallery
History of the World Gallery, Camano Island, WA
1998 Lost & Found, Port Angeles Museum of Art, Port Angeles, WA
Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Pilchuck Exhibition, Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, WA
1997 Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Passion Afire, City Center, Seattle, WA
International Exempla Exhibition, Munich, Germany
1996 Permanent Collection ñ Glass Sphere Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Foster/White Galleries, Seattle and Kirkland, WA
Arts Council of Snohomish County, Everett,WA
1995 Foster/White Gallery, Seattle WA
Heller Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
A Powerful Presence, Pilchuck Exhibition, Seattle Center, Seattle, WA
Sedona Art Center, Sedona, AZ
Hall Barnett Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Shemer Art Center, Phoenix, AZ
Pilchuck Exhibition, Sea-Tac International Airport, Seattle, WA
1994 Heller Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
Pilchuck Exhibition, Sea-Tac International Airport,Seattle, WA
Pilchuck Exhibition, History of the World Gallery, Camano Island, WA
Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff,AZ
1993 Revelations, Solo Exhibition, Art Trek Gallery, Flagstaff, AZ
Pilchuck Glass School Staff Exhibit, Stanwood, WA
1992 Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff,AZ
Galerie International, Dallas, TX
Biennial Crafts 1992, Fuller Lodge Art Center, Los Alamos, NM
Crafts National 26, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Westmoreland Art Nationals, Greensburg, PA (Award)
Pilchuck Glass School Staff Exhibition, Cliff Michel Gallery, Seattle, WA
1991 Artzone Exhibition, Western States Competition, Denver, CO
Goblet Show, Lynn McAllister Gallery, Seattle, WA
Wood, Fiber, Clay, Glass & Metal, Coconino Center for the Arts Flagstaff, AZ
Feet of Glass, National Glass Competition, Baltimore, MD
1990 Exquisite Glass Goblets, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ
Materials Hard & Soft, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, TX
Animals ñ Multimedia, Eileen Kremen Gallery, Fullerton, CA
Southwest Glass Invitational, Philabaum Glass Studio, Tucson, AZ
Environmental Glass Associates Invitational Exhibition, Oklahoma City, OK
1989 Blazing Artists, Group Show, Kuitvato Glass Gallery, Sedona, AZ
Animals, Group Show, Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Sedona, AZ
Feet of Glass, National Glass Competition, Baltimore, MD
Southwest Glass Invitational, Philabaum Glass Studio, Tucson, AZ
The Fine Art of Craft, Tohono Chul Exhibition Hall, Tucson, AZ (Award)
Elaine Horwitch Group Show, Casa Grande Museum and Cultural Center, Casa Grande, AZ
1988 Alumni Exhibition 88, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
Humor in Art, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ (Award)
The International Exhibition of Glass 88, Kanazawa, Japan
Fusion 88, National Glass Competition (Award)
Faculty Exhibit, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
1987 S.G.A.A., International Competition and Exhibition Corning Museum of Glass, NY
Contemporary Glass Artists Southwestern, Galeria Mesa, Mesa, AZ (Award)
Contemporary Southwest Glass Artists, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
1986 The Best Glass of 1986, National Competition (Award)
Northern Arizona University Faculty Exhibit, Flagstaff, AZ
1985 Three-Person Show, Verde Valley School, Sedona, AZ
Arizona Invitational, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
1984 Politics of Art, Seminar Exhibit, Northern Arizona University Gallery, Flagstaff, AZ
Image, Light and Structure, National Glass Invitational, Oakland County Cultural Center, Pontiac, MI
Mars Hill Visual Arts Consortium Group Exhibit, Verde Valley Art Association, Jerome, AZ
Northern Arizona University Faculty Exhibit, Flagstaff, AZ
1983 Profile 83, Arizona Glass Association Exhibit, Phoenix, AZ
1982 Galerie New Glass Exhibit, Sedona, AZ (Award)
Second Annual Glass Exhibit, Sedona, AZ (Award)
Profile 82, Arizona Glass Association Exhibit, United Bank, Phoenix, AZ
Three-Person Show, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
1981 Grand Opening Exhibit, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
Northern Arizona University Faculty Exhibit, Flagstaff, AZ
1980 Northern Arizona Invitational, Verde Valley Arts Association, Sedona, AZ
Flagstaff Festival of the Arts Invitational, Flagstaff, AZ
PROFESSIONAL ILLUSTRATION
Medical Illustrator to Dr. Daniel G. Nehls, Neurosurgeon, Walter Reed Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland
Exploring Oak Creek Canyon and the Sedona Area, by Stewart Aitchison, Utah Geographic Press (Publisher)
PRESENTATIONS GIVEN
2009 Professional Artists in Residence, Pilchuck Glass School
2006 Toledo Museum of Art Docents
Glass Alliance of Northern California
1994-1996 V.I.P. Weekend, Pilchuck Glass School
1993 Pilchuck Glass School
1992 Pilchuck Glass School
1990 Prescott Art Docents, Prescott, Arizona
1989 Distinguished Speaker Series, Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, California
Pilchuck Glass School
1988 Phoenix Art Museum Docents
1987 Pilchuck Glass School
PERMANENT COLLECTION
Sphere and Bead Museum, Tokyo, Japan