The second chapter of the cycle dedicated to the presence of Murano glass at the Biennale examines the years from 1932 to 1942 which saw the furnaces collaborate with artists and designers such as Carlo Scarpa, Flavio Poli and Dino Martens to present their best production.
The exhibition continues the journey begun in 2024 dedicated to the presence of Murano glass at the prestigious Venetian exhibition, examining the years from 1932 to 1942, which correspond respectively to the inauguration of the Venice pavilion and the last edition of the Biennale before the interruption due to the Second World War.
Murano Glass at the Biennale since 1932
Since 1932, Murano glass has been present at the Biennale in a dedicated space built specifically to host the decorative arts thanks to the synergy between the Biennale and the Veneto Institute for Work. The value and quality of the so-called minor arts were thus officially recognized and, on the occasion of the exhibition, they were selected to be shown to the general public. These were years of great creativity and experimentation with materials and colors, both through the revisitation of ancient techniques and through the development of new processes. Initially, light transparent blown glass was proposed, together with opaque glass with intense colors, while from the mid-thirties, heavy glass of great thickness began to assert itself, in many cases embellished with bubbles, delicate nuances or gold leaf applications. Thanks also to the constant renewal of this event, the Murano furnaces had the opportunity to present themselves each time with the best production, knowing how to grasp the stimuli that the Biennale offered them. In fact, the Venetian event, thanks to its international activities, was a privileged showcase for the furnaces and a profitable opportunity for comparison.
The furnaces: Venini, Barovier, Seguso Ferro, Seguso Vetri d'Arte and more
Among the furnaces, in particular, Venini stood out, which availed itself of the collaboration of Carlo Scarpa, while Barovier Seguso Ferro, later Seguso Vetri d'Arte, saw the presence of Flavio Poli; the painter Dino Martens, instead, collaborated first with Salviati & C. and Successori Andrea Rioda and then with Aureliano Toso. Salviati & C. availed itself of the painter Mario De Luigi who signed his works with the pseudonym of Guido Bin. Ercole Barovier is responsible for the numerous series proposed by the historic Barovier glassworks, which became Ferro Toso-Barovier in 1936 and Barovier Toso & C. in 1939. Among the furnaces and companies that, in those years, demonstrated the extraordinary possibilities of Murano glass, we also remember Zecchin Martinuzzi, AVEM, Cirillo Maschio, Moretti Ulderico & C., SAIAR Ferro Toso, Fratelli Toso, VAMSA and SALIR, which proposed engraved glass mainly based on designs by Franz Pelzel. The exhibition 1932-1942 Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale is accompanied by a catalogue, edited by Marino Barovier and Carla Sonego, the result of careful bibliographic research and in-depth documentary investigation in the Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts (ASAC) of the Biennale and in public and private archives, which illustrates with period photographs, drawings and documentary material what was exhibited at the Biennale in that period.
