Norwood Viviano Presentation: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026

Sept. 22, 2026

7:00 PM

Scottsdale Ranch Clubhouse

10585 N. 100th St.

Scottdale, AZ

We're starting our 2026-27 season a bit early because, thanks to Warren Norgaard's Milkweed Studios, a very well known, special artist, Norwood Viviano, will be making a presentation to our group on Tuesday evening, September 22.  Norwood is instantly recognizable for his iconic glass and mixed media architectural sculptures which reflect and comment on urban changes in our society today.  We're very happy to welcome Norwood to Arizona Glass Alliance.

Norwood grew up in suburban Detroit with family members from Sicily, Cuba, Russia and Canada which instilled in him a curiosity that has shaped the way he creates his artwork.  Using mapping tools and industrial materials, Viviano creates installations and sculptures that consider various social and environmental factors driving population changes in America.

Norwood says this about his work: “My artistic intention is to understand our place in time by creating representations of land use, industrial growth and decline, and impacts of climate change while also asking questions about futures of communities.  My early focus on the relationship between people, places and industries resulted from my grandfather’s migration from Sicily and my growing up in Detroit in the 70’s and 80’s, a time of economic devastation caused by upheaval in the auto industry and white flight.  For the past decade I have used both historic and new modes of mapping as well as industrial materials—ceramics, glass, steel—to illustrate the connection between manufacturing and population changes in American cities.  More recently, I have focused on how the impacts of climate change are expected to cause population shifts”

Norwood’s work will be found in major collections and museums around the world, including such well known institutions as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian and the Stanze del Vetro in Venice, and he is represented in the US by the Heller Gallery of New York.  An image of one of Norwood’s creations is shown below, and to learn more about Norwood and see images of more of his work take a look at his website, www.norwoodviviano.com.