Dante Marioni was born in Mill Valley, California in 1964. Marioni is a contemporary American glass artist. His father, Paul Marioni, was involved in the American studio glass movement, and as a result, Dante was constantly exposed to the glassblowing artists of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1979, the Marioni family moved to Seattle and Dante began to study glassblowing at The Glass Eye. He spent summers at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington where his father taught. After graduating from high school, he started to pursue glassblowing as a career; working full time at The Glass Eye. Marioni learned the art of glassblowing from masters like Lino Tagliapietra, Benjamin Moore, and Richard Marquis. He has taught in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. Marioni’s ensemble of glass vessels includes variations of vases, goblets, flasks, cups, and pitchers. His works reveal combinations of classical Greek, Italian, and modern forms using opaque and transparent colors. Some of Marioni’s pieces employ ‘reticello’, which resembles a net, and murrine (mosaic) techniques. As he has refined his technical skills, he tends to design with tall, sleek shapes.