Peter Zelle

Peter Zelle creates uncommonly large cast-glass sculptures.  His work reflects his passion for color and form, and his interest in the interplay of shape, texture, and light.  Abstract, associative, and luminously colorful, his sculptures aim to take viewers by surprise—to generate a flash of recognition and the wonder of discovery.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Zelle has worked with glass, clay, and steel for over 40 years.  He apprenticed with the sculptor Howard Ben Tre in Providence, RI, before returning to Minnesota to establish Zelle Glass Studio, a sculpture and production glass-blowing studio, in 1992.  He has focused on cast-glass sculpture full-time since 2007.  Zelle lives and works in St. Paul, MN.

Rhode Island School of Design, BFA in Sculpture/Glass, 1987

Haystack Mountain School Of Crafts, Studied with Dale Chihuly, 1984

Studio Experience

Glass Studio, sculpture and glass-blowing studio, Minneapolis, MN, 1992-present

H. Ben Tre Design, apprenticeship with sculptor Howard Ben Tre, Providence, RI, 1987-89

Permanent Collection Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, MN 2022
City Hall, Eagan, MN, “Ocean Sentinel” part of HeArt of Eagan public art program, 2020
American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN, “Exactitude of Time” lobby installation, 2020
City of Eagan, MN, “Horizon Bench” public art installation at Walden Heights Park, 2019
Bremer Foundation, St. Paul, MN, “Autumn Nocturne” permanent collection 2016
University of Minnesota Heath Center, Minneapolis, MN, “Landscape, ” sculpture, 2015
Gundersen Lutheran Health Center, La Crosse, WI, “Riverscape,” 7′ glass sculpture, 2013
White Bear Center for the Arts, White Bear Lake, MN, “Tree,” 6’x8′ fused-glass panel, 2013
Ford Center, Minneapolis, MN, “Transport,” three 7′ glass sculptures, 2012
St. Paul College, St. Paul, MN, “Four Seasons,” four outdoor cast-glass fountains, 2010
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, St. Louis Park, MN, “Peace,” chapel installation, 2009
Private Collection, Minneapolis, MN, “In and Out,” outdoor steel and glass sculpture, 2009
St. Paul Talmud Torah, St. Paul, MN, “Ner Tamid (Eternal Light),” 2008
Private Collection, Scottsdale, AZ, “Saguaro,” glass and steel sculpture, 2006
Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, “Wave,” glass wall relief, 2005