■27 years have passed since Japan Glass Artcrafts Association was founded in 1972. It was virtually impossible then to predict the starting development of modern glass art it appears today. This status was not accomplished without the contribution of glass art education and establishment of glass museums with the purpose of enhancing appreciation of glass art among Japanese society. The spreading of glass art education inevitably brought about an increasing number of young glass artists, especially female artists, who are now in pursuit of new possibilities for the next century. It is sad however, to see the number of works done by firm-employed designers decreasing due to the recent slump of the Japanese economy. Last year in May, the annual conference of The American Glass Art Society was held in Seto City, Aichi Prefecture. It was our greatest pleasure not only to be able to host the meeting, but to contribute the success of the meeting where more than 1,500 people-glass artists, students, collectors, gallery owners and other glass-related personnel including our Association members met. Here, in "Glass '99 in Japan" Exhibition, we have invited Ms. Minami Tada as guest judge in order to help us select 30 invitation pieces through an impartial photo screening process. Including these, the Exhibition subtitled "Splendor of the Unknown"has presented 140 pieces, all which are evocative of future glass art development. With this respect, I would like to mention in particular the works of 8 invited Korea artists, all of who I feel confident are reflecting and symbolizing our message toward the 21st century. Likewise the last exhibition in '96, the Odakyu Museum became the only exhibition site. However, in order for more of the public to appreciate some of the finest works of glass art, this time we were successful in extending the exhibition term to 3 weeks. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Glass Manufacturersﾕ Association of Japan, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., the Odakyu Museum, and to all parties who offered us substantial support and understanding of various aspects of the project in order to make "Glass '99 in Japan" a great success.

○Tokyo exhibition
subtitle: "Uncharted Light"
date: September 1 - 19, 1999
place: Odakyu Grand Gallery, Tokyo
organized by: Japan Glass Artcrafts Association
supported by: Agency for Cultural Affairs
cooperated by: Japan Glass Manufactures Association of Japan
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
exhibitors: 99 members, 7 overseas invited artists, and 29 selected domestic works in the applicants.

○1999 exhibition committee
chairman: Yumiko Yoshimoto
vice chairman: Yoko Kuramoto
committees: Shunichi Kamiyama, Hideyo Kawai, Mariko Sato, Shoichi Tani, Kazuyo Hashimoto, Jun Fujita, Hiromi Masuda, Naoto Yokoyama
secretary: Sachiyo Takenaga
photograph: Taku Saiki

○selection committee
JGAA: Makoto Ito, Ruri Iwata, Toshi Sugasawa
guest judge: Minami Tada