Swiss Research Centre for Stained Glass
and Glass Art
Beyond the Masterpiece: Embracing Failure in Ceramic and Glass Art
The fields of ceramic and glass art have long been shaped by ideals of mastery, control, and perfection. Museums, collections, and scholarship often privilege the ‘masterpiece’ – objects that embody technical excellence and aesthetic resolution. Yet behind every successful work lies a spectrum of experiments, misfires, and unexpected outcomes. These ‘failed’ objects, frequently overlooked or discarded, hold critical insights into artistic processes, material behavior, and the evolving definitions of value in art and craft. This conference invites researchers, artists, conservators, and curators to reconsider failure not as an endpoint, but rather as a productive and revealing dimension of ceramic and glass practice. By shifting focus from perfected objects to those deemed ‘not quite right’, we seek to open new dialogues about knowledge production, material agency, conservation ethics, and contemporary artistic approaches.
―― Call for papers
+
Stained Glass in Islamic Lands
Trans-Mediterranean Networks, Local Identities and Glass Technology (2025–2029)
This SNSF project, conducted between 2025–2029, is dedicated to the multifaceted history of stained glass and dalle de verre in North Africa during the 19th and 20th century. The project’s main objective is to analyse the connections and interplay between production, commercialisation, perception and development of these art forms in the colonial and post-colonial era.
―― Research
+
Annual report 2025
+
Vitroarchives
The Archival Catalog of Vitrocentre Romont is now available online.
The Vitrocentre Romont has a rich collection of archives devoted to glass arts that exists nowhere else in Switzerland. The estates of artists and workshops, art historians and specialist societies in the field of glass arts, dating from the 19th to the 21st century, provide unique opportunities for scientific research.
The collections held by the Vitrocentre Romont are public and can be accessed via the online inventory.
Save the date!
Events not to be missed
28 JUNE 2026
Guided tour
Sibylle Walther, curator of the exhibition "La Verrerie artistique de Saint-Prex. Innovations artistiques et techniques", invites you to a lecture and guided tour in French, from 3.30 pm to 5 pm.
13-14 MAY 2027
International conference
This conference sets out to explore the multifaceted realm of technical failures in glass and ceramic arts.
Save the date!
Events not to be missed
28 JUNE 2026
Guided tour
Sibylle Walther, curator of the exhibition "La Verrerie artistique de Saint-Prex. Innovations artistiques et techniques", invites you to a lecture and guided tour in French, from 3.30 pm to 5 pm.
13-14 MAY 2027
International conference
This conference sets out to explore the multifaceted realm of technical failures in glass and ceramic arts.