Incollect Magazine - Issue 15

34 www.incollect.com transformative. Returning to New York, she found herself unable to forget Murano or the extraordinary culture and history surrounding glassmaking. Eventually she left the film industry altogether to establish Cartwright New York, determined to create contemporary work informed by the traditions she had encountered in Venice. Her admiration for Venetian glass remains profound, particularly the innovations of twentieth-century masters including Napoleone Martinuzzi, Tomaso Buzzi, Carlo Scarpa, Paolo Venini, and Archimede Seguso. “I feel like the baton has been passed to us,” she says, “to keep that exploration alive for our generation.” That sense of stewardship explains why every Cartwright piece carries an Italian name, acknowledging both the technical lineage and cultural heritage that inform the studio’s work. Yet nothing about the designs feels nostalgic. Cartwright freely adapts historic techniques such as alabastro and sommerso while applying them to sleek contemporary forms. “As a modernist at heart,” she says, “I feel all aspects of the legacy are open for interpretation.” The making process is equally rooted in collaboration. Holtzinger, whom Cartwright describes as an extraordinary master glassblower, serves as both technical partner and interpreter, translating drawings into molten glass while contributing decades of practical knowledge. “Adam interprets the shapes that I draw in glass,” Cartwright explains, “and we work together to refine the form until we arrive at something that is elemental yet captures the idea.” Despite the apparent fluidity of glass, very little is left to chance. “Both Adam and I are perfectionists,” she says with a laugh. “We don’t leave a lot to chance.” Instead, each piece evolves through successive iterations, testing proportions, techniques, and optical effects until every detail feels resolved. The result is lighting that possesses an unusual quietness — objects that reveal more the longer one lives with them. Her favorite pieces from the new collection are the Sàlice Chandelier in brushed brass and alabaster bullicante glass; the Master glassblower Adam Holtzinger at work in the studio with Carolyn Cartwright, developing a new pendant light using the historic, highly intricate Venetian cane technique. Counterclockwise from upper right: Carolyn discusses the drawing with Adam; Adam torches the piece; Adam shapes the piece by hand with wet paper. Photos: ©2026 Bordwin Studio/Andrew Bordwin, courtesy Cartwright New York.