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Before the studio art movement, glass art was usually done in factories. The first glass sculptor hot shop was created by Harvey Littleton and Dominimck Labino in the mid 60s. Glass art programs were started by Littleton at Wisconsin University in Madison where two students Dale Chiluly and Marvin Lipofsky attained glass art degrees before going on to establish programs in glass art.
 
Now if that is the history of glass art, where is the contemporary art headed when it comes to art glass. Will this form of modern art expand or shrink? Will the value of the products made of fine art glass continue to expand? One thing that is clear is that contemporary art is no longer young. This is due to the fact that many people consider glass making to be a form of art rather than a craft. This is unlike the 1980s and 1990s where most people were questioning whether glass sculptor should be considered to be an art of craft. It is also worth noting that some of the popular glass artists have their artwork for sale in the major museums. Some of the best known cold glass artists such as Tagliapietra, Chihuly and Morris have held major exhibition at the leading museums. This evidence is enough to put this debate to rest.
 
However, it is important to note that nothing lasts forever. This means that the vitality, excitement and expansiveness witnessed in the contemporary glass may get to a point where it will wane. However, the major question is on whether this point will be in this decade or even in the next century. Only time will tell.
One positive thing that has come out of the robust growth of the contemporary glass art is the fact that many of the modern galleries have added glass artists to their galleries. Nowadays we have a big number of top galleries that feature glass art for sale. Two decades ago only a few galleries features glass art. But nowadays, nearly every major gallery has at least one major glass artist.
 
Some of the other indicators of the stability and growth of glass art is due to the rise in the number of art programs in colleges. There are many glass programs in colleges and universities and this has seen a rise in the number of contemporary glass collectors. When we consider all these factors, we can have an idea of where glass art is headed.