Benjamin “Benny” Moore was an artist, entrepreneur, educator, and community builder, a mentor to many and an inspiration to many more. He was born on February 2, 1952 in Olympia, Washington and later moved to Seattle, where he established Benjamin Moore, Inc., commonly known across the glass community as BMI Studio. Benny passed away in Seattle on June 25, 2021, at the age of 69. A loving husband and father, he is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Debora Moore; his daughter Jasmyn Langton; his granddaughters Jaliza Alabe and Tattiana Mayo; his brother Michael Moore; and a large extended family.

Determined, impactful, generous, focused—these words best describe the remarkable life and career of Benjamin Moore. Benny made his life in the world of studio glass. He achieved an astonishing level of skill and a keen sense of design in his own work, and he reveled in connecting communities and artists the world over.

Benny’s love for art and his entrepreneurial spirit prevailed from an early age. He started his own ceramics studio when he was only 14 and later studied ceramics at Central Washington University. He went on to earn his BFA at California College of Arts and Craft. While studying ceramics, he was introduced to glass by professor Marvin Lipofsky. Intrigued by the material and always ready to learn, he attended a session at Pilchuck Glass School after graduation. It was there he met Dale Chihuly, who was then the chair of the glass program at the Rhode Island School of Design. That taste of glassblowing at Pilchuck led Benny to enroll at RISD and to study and work with Dale. He earned his MFA from RISD in June 1977.

Fascinated by glassblowing and inspired by Dale’s stories of the glass factories in Italy, Benny dreamed of traveling to Murano to study with the Italian Maestros, the best in the field. He reached out to ten factories in Murano and received one cryptic response from Ludovico Diaz de Santillana at the Venini factory. It was enough to set him off for Venice. While working at Venini, he became friends with Maestro Checco Ongaro. Benny invited Checco back to teach at his beloved Pilchuck in 1978. The following year, Checco suggested his brother-in-law, Maestro Lino Tagliapietra, to teach. Benny’s invitations to them established a bridge between Italian and American glass makers—and, in doing so, opened up possibilities for American artists working with glass in ways that continue to ripple through the studio glass community to this day.

After Venini, Benny continued to work in Europe. He spent time at J & L Lobmeyer in Vienna, Austria, where he expanded his network of artists and his appreciation and knowledge of glassmaking. And he continued his involvement with Pilchuck, where he went from being an early student and faculty member to serving as the school’s Educational Coordinator, Interim Executive Director, and eventually a member of the Board of Trustees for over thirty years. His collaborative spirit brought artists from Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic and beyond to Pilchuck.

Benny founded his own studio, Benjamin Moore, Inc., in Seattle in 1985. He was eager to provide a space for artists to work with skilled teams to realize their own visions. These teams included Rich Royal, Dante Marioni, Preston Singletary, Robbie Miller, and other notable artists who all went on to successful glass careers of their own. Benny meticulously oversaw all aspects of the working process in the studio and also continued to create his own work with exacting detail.

In 1990, through Pilchuck connections, Benny met Debora Moore, a talented glass maker. She went on to work as part of the BMI team, and she and Benny married in 1993. Never a one-dimensional man, he loved his family, he loved jazz, and he loved the outdoors. These passions and the people he shared them with guided his work and his life for decades, bringing richness and connection wherever he went. Benny was central to our glass community; he was, in a word, beloved.

His friends recount Benny’s impact, both wide and deep:

Benjamin Moore has been represented by many of the top galleries in the field, including: Schantz Gallery in Stockbridge, MA; Holsten Galleries in Santa Fe, NM; and Butters Gallery Ltd in Portland, OR.

His work can be found in major museum collections such as: the Cantor Visual Arts Museum, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY; Frauenau Museum, Frauenau, Bavaria; Glasmuseum, Ebeltoft, Denmark; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL; J&L Lobmeyr Museum Collection, Vienna, Austria; Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL;  Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY; Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA; National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden; National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C; Niijima Contemporary Glass Art Museum, Niijima, Japan; Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA; Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH; Venini Collection, Murano-Venice, Italy; Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, FL; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA.

A very special thanks to Pamela Koss for writing this tribute.