Venini’s artists: A history of Venetian glass

This is not the first exhibition on an important
figure or movement of 20th-century art to be held at the Giorgio Cini
Foundation. The first, Mondrian and de Stijl: the modern ideal, was mounted in 1990, followed by From Gaudì to Picasso: Catalan moderism in 1991, Russian symbolism: Sergej Djagilev and the Silver Age of art in 1992, and Henry Moore. Sculptures, drawings, prints, tapestries in 1995.
This year’s spring exhibition is dedicated to the Venini glassworks and
displays works by those artists who lent their innovativeness,
creativity and committed effort to the Venini trademark. It is being
mounted in honour of the 75th anniversary of this factory, which, from
its very founding, has played a leading role in the renewal and
re-definition of the art of Venetian glass.
The art of glass often produces creations verging on the incredible.
Yet whilst its workers are highly-qualified and have been skillfully
trained in a centuries-long tradition, the art itself is still
considered a form of artisanry, albeit a noble and superior one. It
really makes no sense, however, to label art forms as ‘major’ or
‘minor’ and ‘decorative’ (as this exhibition, not to mention numerous
manufacturers world-wide, attests). Every form of artistic expression
employs its own tools and materials and chooses its own area of
specialisation. And every art form remains major to the extent in which
it fully and consciously merges means and inspiration, conditioning and
freedom, thought and emotion. The 20th century has borne witness to
what can be achieved by broadening the concept of artistic expression –
from design to industrial production, from the object as total and
unique to more ‘useful’ forms – thus rendering prior scales of values
insufficient for a true understanding of art, or, at the very least,
radically revising them. This is particularly true in the case of
Venetian glass: an almost millenary form conceived in a place in which
the quality of the material used seems connatural with the very
substance and essence of the city and its expression. Glass, like
water, air and stone, expresses character, light, transparency,
trasformations of colour and the constant remodulation of forms.
In putting together this exhibition on Venini and his artists, which
critically reconstructs the history of the trademark whose pieces are
known world-wide and appear in the most illustrious collections, the
Cini Foundation’s intention was two-fold. First and foremost, we sought
to emphasise the coherence of the revival courageously undertaken by
Paolo Venini and carried on by Ludovico Diaz de Santillana. Secondly,
we aimed to highlight those artists who worked under the Venini
trademark in a concerted effort to breathe new life into a craft that
has accompanied humankind throughout history. Many of these were among
the most eminent in the twentieth century and part of a tradition that
Venice, in particular, ought to honour and study.

Venice, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
24 April – 7 July 1996

Information
Institute of Art History
Island of San Giorgio Maggiore – 30124 Venice
tel. +39 041 2710230
fax +39 041 5205842
e-mail: arte@cini.it