Chris Pantano has been a professional glass artist for more than 25 years.  His first international exhibition was in Singapore in 1986 and he has since exhibited in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan and North America.  In Australia, he is recognized as one of Australia's leading collectable glass artist.  He has built a global reputation as a master craftsman with a strong emphasis on colour, pattern and story.

The inspiration for Chris' work comes from a variety of sources.  These include the unique qualities of glass itself, especially in its molten state.  For Chris the almost endless ways glass provides to play with colour, form and texture provide a great avenue for his creative expression.  Much of his inspiration also comes from the rich diversity of Australia's natural beauty -- the reef, the rain forest, wildflowers, the Outback and the colours and textures of Australian landscape.

Influenced by his lifelong interest in philosophy, anthropology, ancient cultures, the development of writing and language and the universal use of symbols and forms in art across all continents, Chris references mysticism, science and the art of ancient cultures in his ongoing creative adventure.

While he greatly enjoys the design stage, Chris has a strong need to be intimately involved in the making process.  It is this meticulous, hands on approach satisfies that desire within to create.  He is also a master at taking advantage of the many unexpected effects that result from playing with colour and creating forms and textures in molten glass. 

Chris' work is highly regarded and sought after by private and institutional collectors around the world. Institutional collections include the permanent collection in Australia's Parliament House in Canberra; the Queensland Art Gallery; Northern Territory Art Galleries; The McGaugherty Glass Collection at Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria; The Dr Robert Wilson Collection at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Collection Ludwig in Hannover, Germany; and Koganezaki Glass Museum in Shizuoka, Japan.