Howard, Ben Tré, 1949-2020

Howard Ben Tré (May 13, 1949 - June 20, 2020) was an American glass artist. He worked with poured glass, creating small sculptures and large scale public artworks. Glass magazine has called Ben Tré a pioneer in the technique of using hot glass casting in fine art. Howard Ben Tré was born May 13, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York.[1] In the 1960s he attended Brooklyn College for two years[1] and was a political activist.[3]

In the 1970s he left New York with his wife, Gay, for Oregon. At Portland State University he learned about the university's well-known glass-blowing shop and began studying the creation process, finding influence in religious objects.[3] He would obtain his bachelor's degree at Portland State. Dale Chihuly recruited Ben Tré to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)[4] from Portland, Oregon where he would graduate with a Masters of Fine Arts in 1980.[1][2]