The Washington Glass School

Silvia Levenson “She Flew Away” cast glass, steel wire

Artist Silvia Levenson believes her work is an expression of her soul. She uses glass not for its natural beauty, but for its potential as a narrative medium. In her exhibition Identidad, (January 24 – March 15, 2015 at the American University Museum in the Katzen Arts Center), Ms Levenson channels her identity as a survivor of the Argentinian Dirty War and her emotional connection to the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in order to push the bounds of her skills as a glassmaker and produce refined glass work. 

Silvia Levenson was born in Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city of Argentina. She and her family went into hiding for almost three years as political activists opposing the military dictatorship of General Jorge Rafaél Videla. In 1981, during the disappearances of the so-called Dirty War in Argentina, they fled the country and immigrated to Italy, where they eventually attained dual Argentine-Italian citizenship. Between 1976 and 1983, the Argentine military dictatorship kidnapped, tortured, and killed about 30,000 people known as “los desaparecidos” or “the disappeared.” Thirty percent of those kidnapped were young women, many with children by their side or in their womb. These children were later stripped of their identity and given up for adoption. 

Levenson studied at the Martin Garcia School of Graphic Design in Buenos Aires. She acquired glass-making skills at the Musée-Atelier du Verre (Sars-Poteries/FR) at workshops with Antoine Leperlier (pâte-de-verre, 1991) and Vincent van Ginneke (casting, 1994). Silvia Levenson lives in Lesa/Italy and Buenos Aires. In 2004, Levenson received the Rakow Commission Award from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center presents a lecture titled “The Strange World of Silvia Levenson” featuring Washington Glass School Directors Tim Tate and Michael Janis to be held on Thursday, January 29, 2015, 6:00-7:00 pm at the Katzen Arts Center. 

RSVP by Jan 22, 2015 to museummembership@american.edu 

Identitdad by Silvia Levenson

January 24 through March 15, 2015

Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016