For more than four decades, internationally acclaimed collaborative duo Monica Guggisberg and Philip Baldwin have steadily dismantled the boundaries of studio glass, elevating it from a tradition of functional craft into a profound medium for existential inquiry. Their latest paradigm-shifting exhibition, Precession Through Glass (November 15, 2026 to April 25, 2027), will transform the Sarasota Art Museum into a temple of philosophical and cosmic contemplation as it explores the very fabric of our origins.
Anchoring the exhibition is a monumental, 31-foot mixed-media DNA double helix sculpture that will soar floor-to-ceiling within the museum’s third-floor tower gallery. Commissioned specifically for this space, the iconic spiral combines structured metalwork with dozens of delicately suspended, free-blown glass amphorae. By substituting these ancient storage jars for nitrogenous bases, the artists bridge the gap between ancient human trade and biological coding. A second museum-commissioned installation mirrors the scientific principle of astronomical precession—the planet’s slow, 26,000-year axial “wobble.” At its heart sits a metallic Earth orb, encircled by a constellation of 60 undulating, glass-blown bowls representing the ancient Sumerian sexagesimal numerical system that still governs modern timekeeping.
Ultimately, the exhibition acts as a powerful reminder of art’s capacity to access the unquantifiable. “Guggisberg and Baldwin inspire us to think beyond a purely mechanical view of the universe,” says Virginia Shearer, executive director of the Sarasota Art Museum. “Their work creates a conversation between logic and feeling, between what we can measure and what we can only sense. At the same time, their craftsmanship in glass is extraordinary, making these complex ideas accessible through visually striking forms.”
Visitors will also see examples of the artists’ more traditional glasswork on pedestals, including pieces created using the Italian glass art technique known as incalmo, which involves joining two pieces of glass together while hot.
For the artists, the hope is that visitors walk away from the exhibition with thoughtful reflection. “To be clear, we don’t pretend to know anything. We are just citizens and artists who are asking questions,” say Baldwin and Guggisberg in a joint statement. “We hope to inspire wonder, [and] wonder doesn’t mean knowing.”
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Text by Florian Jouin
Photos courtesy of Sarasota Art Museum
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