William Warmus

Warmus holds a B.A. in art history from the University of Chicago in 1975 and was enrolled in the Masters in General Studies in the Humanities program in 1976.

He is a Fellow at the Corning Museum of Glass where he was the curator of Modern Glass from 1978 to 1984 as well as the founding editor of the New Glass Review, and editor of Glass Quarterly magazine from 1986 to 1989. He is the author of several books about sculpture, primarily focusing on artists working in glass. {{cite journal |last=Putre |first=Laura |date=April 2006 |volume=98 |issue=4 |title=Glass action |url=http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0604/peer/glass.shtml |journal=University of Chicago Magazine |access-date=2015-11-16 }} The Warmus archive is at the Rakow Library of the Corning Museum of Glass. As noted in "The Corning Museum of Glass: Notable Acquisitions 2016" (Corning: The Museum) p.54:

"Warmus continues to be an important voice analyzing and evaluating contemporary glass. His journals chronicle the development of his theories, which predicted the end of the Studio Glass movement (1995) and posited "Glass Secessionism" with the artist Tim Tate (American, b. 1960). Warmus's philosophy of "Reticulate Aesthetics" considers the structure of art as a net or web, rather than a hierarchy."

Warmus also writes about the aesthetics of the ocean realm, which has influenced his art criticism. His theory of reticulate aesthetics is outlined in "From a Tree to a Web," American Craft, v.75, no.2, April/May 2015, pp.104-107. His observations about the end of the studio glass movement are in "The End?," Glass Quarterly, no. 60, Fall 1995, pp.42-45.

Critic and curator Lydia Matthews, writing in American Craft Inquiry (“Daring to Dive Deeply: A Conversation about Craft Writing and Criticism” Volume One, Issue One, November 2016) observed that Warmus developed his theory of Reticulate Aesthetics partly as a response to the critical positions of Clement Greenberg:

“To address this expansive complexity in the contemporary craft scene, Warmus increasingly recognized that Greenberg's focus on materiality and form alone no longer seemed viable. Inspired by the kind of embodied knowledge acquired through experiences as a scuba diver, he began to envision a new way of looking at craft – one more akin to viewing the rich underwater world.

He described this analytical viewpoint as “reticulate,” which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as: “genetic recombination involving diverse interbreeding populations.” There is no judging “good,” “better,” “best” when comparing an octopus, shark, and a coral, so why would you want to impose hierarchical critical criteria to “species” in the craft world rather than seeing them as coexisting or hybridizing within a larger, more intricate ecosystem? Reticulate criticism proposes a more horizontal, weblike, and networked approach to writing about craft, one which recognizes that our field evolves organically over time, in response to specific environmental conditions.”

In 2020 Warmus curated “Venice and American Studio Glass” with Tina Oldknow at the Stanze del Vetro Museum in Venice, exploring the profound impact of Venice on American Studio Glass artists, beginning in the 1960s. In 2022 he curated “Years of Glass” at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, exploring how glass as a medium is integrated into a contemporary fine art museum collection.

• {{cite book|title=New Glass: A Worldwide Survey |publisher=Corning Museum of Glass|date= 1979|ISBN=9780486241562}}{{citation needed|reason=What is the role of Warmus in this pub?|date=May 2017}}
• {{cite book|last1=Buechner|first1=Thomas C.| last2=Warmus |first2=William |title=Czechoslovakian Diary: 1980|date=1981|publisher=Corning Museum of Glass|location=Corning NY|isbn=978-0872901025}}
• {{cite book|title=New Glass Review 1-5 |publisher=Corning Museum of Glass|date=1980–1984|location=Corning NY}}{{citation needed|reason=What is the role of Warmus in these volumes?|date=May 2017}}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William |title=Emile Gallé: Dreams into Glass| publisher=Corning Museum of Glass|date=1984|location=Corning NY| ISBN=9780872901094}}
• {{cite book|last1=Warmus| first1=William |last2=Geldzahler |first2=Henry| title= Dan Dailey: Simple Complexities in Drawings and Glass 1872-1987 (Philadelphia College of the Arts)|date=1988|publisher=University of Washington Press| ISBN=9780295966632}}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William |title=The Venetians: Modern Glass 1919-1990| publisher=Muriel Karasik Gallery| date= 1989| ISBN=9780962458507}}
• {{cite book |last1=Self |first1=Dana |last2=Warmus |first2=William |title=Chihuly Over Venice |publisher=Chihuly Workshop |location=Seattle |date=1996 |isbn=9781576840054 |url=https://archive.org/details/chihulyovervenic00chih }}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William (commentary)|title= Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000| publisher=Portland Press|date=2000| isbn=9781576840160}}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William |title=The Essential Dale Chihuly|url=https://archive.org/details/essentialdalechi00warm |url-access=registration | publisher=Harry Abrams| location=New York| date=2000| isbn=0-8109-5812-0}}
• {{cite book| last1=Vizner| first1=Frantisek| last2=Warmus| first2=William| title=Vizner: Glass 1951-2001| date=2001| location= New York| publisher=Barry Friedman| isbn=9788023875539}}
• {{cite book| last=Warmus| first=William| title=The Essential Louis C. Tiffany| publisher=Harry Abrams| date=2001| location=New York| isbn=9780810958289| url=https://archive.org/details/essential00will}}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William |title=The Essential René Lalique| publisher=Harry Abrams| date=2003|location=New York| isbn=9780810958364}}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William |title=Fire and Form |publisher=Norton Museum of Art| date= 2003| isbn=9780943411392}}
• {{cite book|last1=Mentasti |first1=Rose Barovier|last2=Warmus |first2=William |title = Yoichi Ohira: A Phenomenon in Glass| location=New York |publisher=Rizzoli| date=2003| isbn=9780972310802}}
• {{cite book|last1=Warmus |first1=William |last2=Kuspit| first2=Donald|title=Tom Patti: Illuminating the Invisible|publisher=Museum of Glass|location=Seattle |date=2005| isbn=9780295984735}}
• {{cite book|last=Warmus |first=William |title=William Morris. Native Species. The George R. Stroemple Collection| publisher=Belzar Springs Press| date=2006| isbn=9780978869502}}
• {{cite book| last=Warmus| first=William| title=Dan Dailey| location=New York| publisher=Harry N. Abrams| date=2007| isbn=9780810993198| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/dandailey0000dail}}
• {{cite book|last1=Close| first1=Timothy| last2=Minkoff| first2=Robert| last3=Page| first3=Andrew| last4=Warmus |first4=William |title=Beauty Beyond Nature: The Glass Art of Paul Stankard| publisher=Robert M. Minkoff Foundation |date=2011 |isbn=9780615473628}}
• {{cite book|last1=Warmus |first1=William |last2=Burkhalter| first2=Laura|title=Transparencies: Contemporary Art & A History of Glass|publisher=Des Moines Art Center| date=2013| isbn=9781879003668}}
• {{cite book|last1=Barovier| first1=Rosa| last2=Warmus |first2=William |last3=Patino| first3=Maricruz |title=Narcissus Quagliata: Architypes and Visions in Light and Glass |publisher= Arnoldsche| date=2013|isbn=9783897903784}}
• {{cite book|last1=Ricke |first1=Helmut |last2=Warmus |first2=William| title=Art Deco Glass: The David Huchthausen Collection| date=2016|location= Tacoma| publisher= Museum of Glass| isbn=9780692781937}}
• {{cite book|last1=Warmus |first1=William |last2=Oldknow|first2=Tina| title=Venice and American Studio Glass| date=2020|location=Milan| publisher = Skira| isbn=9788857243870}}

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