TOUGH: The Corning Museum of Glass will open its new exhibition Tough Stuff: Women in the American Glass Studio on May 16, as a major initiative of the Museum’s year-long celebration of its 75th anniversary.

Tough Stuff is the first survey exhibition of work by women artists working in glass during the breakthrough decades of the American Studio Glass Movement, the 1960s through the late 1970s. Featured in the exhibition are more than 200 objects from artists such as Claire Falkenstein, Audrey Handler, Margie Jervis, Susie Krasnican, Kathleen Mulcahy, Ginny Ruffner, Ruth Tamura, Toots Zynsky, and many others.
“Tough Stuff emerged out of a desire to open a new door into the multifaceted histories of glass in the United States,” said Tami Landis, Curator of Postwar and Contemporary Glass at CMOG. “The exhibition is grounded in conversations with artists about their experiences and challenges in developing their own studios and signature styles.”

American art of the 1960s was characterized by both material and conceptual innovation. This period of transformation redefined glass as a serious artistic medium and laid the groundwork for what became known as the Studio Glass Movement. While scholarship has often framed this movement around a narrow lineage of male artists, the reality was far broader; artists of both genders across disciplines, regions, and backgrounds were advancing the medium through diverse techniques and creative inquiry.

Women played a central yet often overlooked role individually and collectively, which Tough Stuff brings into sharper focus. By highlighting works from the 1960s through today, the exhibition explores the history of studio glass through these women artists’ stories, acknowledging their persistence, ingenuity, and influence while expanding the historical narrative to reflect a richer, more inclusive vision.