Image: Katherine Gray, Crease, 2018. Sandblasted glass with iridescent coating. Collection of Dr. Karl Salatka
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, has extended 'Contemporary Glass from the Salatka Collection', a pop-up exhibition that opened on 14 October 2026. Shown alongside a five-day glass festival, the presentation has been extended by popular demand and will now remain on view until 8 November 2026.
The exhibition draws on the collection of Dr. Karl Salatka, a retired physician and longtime art collector who has assembled his holdings of contemporary glass over several decades. One further work comes from the museum's own permanent collection. Together the pieces show the range of techniques used by today's glass artists, from glassblowing and fusing to etching and sandblasting.
Two works illustrate that range. Katherine Gray's 'Crease' (2018) is made of sandblasted glass finished with an iridescent coating, while Jason Forck's 'Breadth i' (2018) is a blown glass form with an etched surface. Both belong to Salatka's collection.
The pop-up accompanies Reflections in Glass, a five-day programme held from 14 to 18 October and organised by the Westmoreland in partnership with Pittsburgh Glass Center. For that event, original glass works by 15 artists from Pennsylvania and beyond were installed throughout the museum, each one responding to a work in the galleries.
The programme included workshops in fused glass and mosaic, an evening of illuminated glass demonstrations from Pittsburgh Glass Center's Light Lab, and a closing day with glassblowing demonstrations from the Hot Wheels Mobile Studio. Awards went to Ayako Hirogaki, who received the Director's Choice Award, and Lyla Nelson, who received the Sponsors' Choice Award, with a People's Choice Award decided by visitor vote.
With the extension, the Salatka works give visitors a further three weeks to see contemporary studio glass at the Westmoreland after the festival has ended.
