Gallery Belleau, Providence

Gallery Belleau is an artist-run gallery centered on the hand-blown glass of Christopher Belleau, alongside ceramics, jewelry, woodwork, metalwork, and other American craft. Belleau began as a pottery apprentice at age 13 in Wisconsin, but changed direction after discovering glassblowing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has worked in the region since 1987.

Nature provides many of his subjects, including irises, lilies, tulips, fruits, vegetables, fish, mushrooms, pumpkins, and wave-like forms. Belleau also makes much of his own colored glass by adding metal oxides to raw glass. Unlike ready-made commercial colors, this process produces subtle differences in hue, tone, and depth, so individual pieces may vary even when they follow the same design.

The gallery’s glass flowers are among its most recognizable displays, with more than 30 flower forms appearing in individual stems and arranged bouquets. Visitors can examine the shaped petals, long glass stems, suspended bubbles, and layered colors at close range. Other works include vessels, ornaments, ring holders, and “lily bells,” all made at Belleau’s workshop across the river.