José Chardiet was born in Havana, Cuba. His family moved to the United States when he was 4 and settled in Haven, CT. Chardiet earned a BA from Southern Connecticut State University and then studied at Kent State where he earned his MFA. Chardiet was a professor of art at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for ten years, and I’m 2000 left his teaching position to pursue a full time career as an artist.

Mastering glassblowing, casting techniques and electroplating, José Chardiet has combined his artistic skills and vivid imagination to create a variety of sculptural forms. Drawing form a diverse range of topics, he has been inspired by African art, woodwind instruments, and still-life paintings. Utilizing the natural transparency of glass, Chardiet creates bold and sensuous sculptures that are imbued with an inner spirit, and have intrigued and delighted art collectors throughout the world.

Recognized internationally for his sculpture, José Chardiet has received numerous fellowships and honors and is in the collections of over 20 museums.

"One constant in all of my sculpture is a greater concern for the interior or void of the piece rather than the walls that define it. Really for me the interior or void is where all the spiritual power lies, not the surface. This is true of my work whether it references architecture, as in the Prism, Teapot or Vitrine Series or the human figure as in the Still Life or Vessel Series. In my glass sculptures the power of the interior is increased or made more explicit by exposing it through polishing and translucency." - José Chardiet

"Polka Dot Red" by José Chardiet