When we talk about Made in Italy and, in particular, the Murano glass creations, it is impossible not to think of Venini, a leading company in Italy and abroad for the production of hand-blown glass and artistic glassware.
Founded in 1921 by Paolo Venini, a pioneer in the sector, the company is still based in Murano and boasts the experience of highly qualified craftsmen. Each piece is simply unique, the result of techniques handed down from generation to generation based on the hand-blown glass.
Throughout its history, the Venini company has collaborated with design of the caliber of Gio Ponti, Tapio Wirkkala, Ettore Sottsass, Michele De Lucchi and Carlo Scarpa, thanks to which iconic objects have come to life: it is enough to think of the “handkerchief” by Fulvio Bianconi, or to the chandelier “Tronchi” by Carlo Scarpa.
Not only, because Venini is also synonymous with artistic crystal, loved and appreciated all over the world and true symbol of Made in Italy at a global level.
Who was Paolo Venini?
Born in Cusano Milanino in 1895, despite his legal studies, Paolo Venini is a great art and design enthusiast. In 1921 he moved to Murano, famous for its glass tradition, where he founded Venini & Co. together with Giacomo Cappellin.
The first years were marked by experimentation and collaborations with the main glass masters of the area, through which walls, glass canes and other small extremely original objects are born. It is thanks to the partnership with Carlo Scarpa, for example, if there are unique and immediately recognizable pieces typical of the thirties and forties.
Immediately after the Second World War, Venini & Co. continues to innovate and expand, introducing new techniques such as filigree and incalmo and forging links with leading artists and designers such as Fulvio Bianconi, Thomas Stearns and Tapio Wirkkala.
Currently owned by the luxury fashion group LVMH, the company continues to produce glass of the highest quality, with works that perfectly combine tradition and innovation.
The techniques that make Venini unique and original
Among the many reasons that have made and still make the Venini glassworks so famous all over the world is the wide range of techniques used for glass processing. The most widely used are:
- Filigree, which involves twisting and layering glass wires to create woven patterns similar to lace or spirals;
- murrine, small canes or glass sticks cut and cast to create original patterns, particularly famous and appreciated for their extravagant and colorful designs;
- Wrought, which involves grinding the glass surface to achieve a material effect;
- Incalmo, based on the union of different pieces of coloured glass to create a single vase, characterized by different combinations of colours and geometric figures;
- Aureliano Toso, that is the superposition of opaque and transparent glass to obtain a “milky” effect, reminiscent of the texture of clouds.
Buying and owning a Venini production means being able to show off a true work of art, unique in its kind and simply unrepeatable.
The Venini Museum
All the creations of the company Venini have helped to tell the evolution of art and contemporary design, not only Italian but also international, so that many works have become part of prestigious collections exhibited in exceptional museums; just to name a few, we can mention the Metropolitan Museum and the MOMA in New York, the Cartier Foundation and the Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst in Viennna, the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montreal, the Eretz Museum in Tel Aviv, the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo and the Shanghai Museum of Glass, but also the Triennale in Milan and the Murano Glass Museum.
In addition, most of the works produced in the furnace are unique pieces so valuable that they are often beaten in the most prestigious auctions in the world.
In short, the story of Venini is so important that it could not be told and exploited to the best; for this reason in 2008 was founded the Venini Museum, a perennial exhibition that not only tells a very interesting historical continuity, but it enhances a complete life cycle marked by simply unique creations.
Each stage is characterized by the work of expert masters, wide ranges of colors, traditional techniques of great relevance and numerous collaborations with designers of international fame that, together, they are enclosed in a space rich in emotions able to involve the visitor to make him live an exciting experience.
The historical archive is composed of more than 45 thousand original drawings, 10 thousand vintage photos and over 5 thousand works, including very rare proofs of authorship often lent to important exhibitions and international exhibitions.
That’s why anyone visiting Murano cannot miss the Venini Museum, not only to experience the excellence of Made in Italy, but also and above all to live a unique experience, Unbound by time and space and dictated simply by feelings and emotions.
Copertina: Unsplash
