Fire and water, but also earth and air: the philosophical elements meet in St. Moritz on the occasion of the Venini Art Glass exhibition, set up from 25 August to 3 September for the 2017 edition of Art Masters. Fire is the vital element for Venini's artistic creation; the flames have animated, since 1921, the furnace of the ancient glass factory. The water, on the other hand, is the one that already flowed from the Paracelsus spring in the Bronze Age, an ancient building that bears witness to the millenary culture of thermal baths in this area of the Engadine and today houses the exhibition; water is also the element that is alternated with fire in the delicate glass manufacturing.
Here, in this space full of symbolism and historical testimonies, Venini accompanies visitors on an extraordinary journey through the works and inspirations of the most talented artists of the last century and of the contemporary world: glass becomes the pictorial element to give shape to works highly expressive art. In this journey, punctuated by a selection of the most representative masterpieces of Made in Italy glass art, Venini talks about the ability to offer timeless pieces, both from a formal and manufacturing point of view.
Due to its incredible evocative and dreamlike power, glass has enchanted artists and designers who have found a creative laboratory in the Murano furnace in which to experience the ancient glass-making processes and experiment with the infinite forms of the material shaped by the craftsmen. From this creative forge collections of vases and unique pieces were born which today return to dialogue with each other in the Venini Art Glass exhibition: from the irreverence of the Replicanti lamp by Mimmo Rotella to the magic of the Globes by Sandro Chia, from the décor by Alessandro Mendini with the vase Murrine with pure forms interpreted by Ettore Sottsass in the work Husband and wife, from the organic lines of Gae Aulenti to the decomposed visions of Gaetano Pesce, up to the architectural plasticity of Tadao Ando.
In this historic place, the artists find the tools and techniques to give shape to creative thinking through the working of glass. Here, moreover, they let themselves be inspired by the many possibilities offered by glass manufacturing: that of Venini, in fact, is the only furnace capable of creating over one hundred chromatic shades, to allow designers to best express their art.
On the occasion of St.Moritz Art Masters, Venini reaffirms the profound value of the collaboration between artist and craftsman as an extraordinary creative moment, necessary for the birth of timeless works of art. A story that began almost a century ago with the brilliant vision of Paolo Venini, which has made it possible to preserve this excellence of Italian culture to this day.
With a rich program of events, exhibitions, meetings, Art Masters is the art festival that for ten years has been attracting art enthusiasts and leading exponents of the cultural debate on visual expressions to St. Moritz: an exceptional opportunity to get to know the prestigious masterpieces signed by the most authoritative international authors, a unique opportunity to see the most significant works of creative genius gathered in the same place. In this context, in addition to the exhibition set up at the Paracelsus, Venini is also exhibiting some pieces at the elegant Suvretta hotel which, on August 29, is dedicating a gala evening to friends of the brand.
In sharing values and passion for beauty, Venini has recently become part of the Damiani galaxy, a leading group of made in Italy luxury which has acquired the majority stake with the aim of giving greater impetus to one of the most authentic excellences of made in Italy.
