10th September will mark the launch of The Italian Glass Weeks: the most important international event in Italy dedicated to artistic and industrial glass, which was born from the union of Vision Milan Glass Week and The Venice Glass Week. This major new festival will see a series of exhibitions, installations, workshops, performances, activities for children and families as well as guided tours, conferences and much more, taking place across Milan and Venice over the course of a fortnight. The first week will take place in Milan from 10th to 18th September 2022, with a programme dedicated primarily to industrial glass and design. The second week will take place in Venice from 17th to 25th September 2022, dedicated to artistic glass.
THE ITALIAN GLASS WEEKS: THE EVENTS IN VENICE
The Venetian week will feature hundreds of events across Venice, Murano and Mestre. The week, historically dedicated to artistic glass, will be officially launched on the evening of 16th September with the inauguration of The Italian Glass Weeks – Venice HUB and The Italian Glass Weeks – Venice HUB Under35. The former will be hosted at Palazzo Loredan, home of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, featuring glass art works by 21 Italian and international artists and designers; the latter will host works by 20 Italian and international artists and designers under 35 at Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, headquarters of the Fondazione Levi.
Three important prizes will be awarded within the context of The Italian Glass Weeks: the Glass in Venice Prize, awarded to artists and glass masters who have distinguished themselves with their work in the great Murano tradition, or, elsewhere in the world, through different schools and techniques; the Premio Fondazione di Venezia per Vetro Artistico, awarded to the best project in the Venetian week of the festival; the Autonoma Residency Prize, awarded to a young artist or designer from Italy or abroad, participating in the HUB Under35.
THE PHOTOPHORE’S PICKS: SHOWS NOT TO BE MISSED
- MARIA KOSHENKOVA. FAUNS FLESH
Included in The Italian Glass Weeks – Venice HUB hosted at Palazzo Loredan (September 17-25), the glass sculptures “Fauns Flesh” by the Russian/Danish artist Maria Koshenkova evoke a paradox between pure materialism and pure instinct. Through the glass, the artist tries to materialize the power of imperfection and and raw emotions, revealing the violence hidden in graceful and beautiful things, and conversely the beauty that seeks to justify violent acts. Currently, the glass artworks by Maria Koshenkova are part of the Danish Pavilion “We Walk the Earth” for the 59a Biennale di Venezia.
- ANDREAS SCHULZE: RELAX
On view in Venice till September 30 (at San Marco 3208), thanks to a collaboration between Sprüth Magers and DH Office, the glass works by German artist Andreas Schulze, titled “Relax”, consist of two glass bricks placed at right angles to each other, topped by an organic, sinuous white form. Embedded in Schulze’s unique visual language, the sculptures, fabricated in Murano, repeat two frequent motifs in the artist’s work, in which he combines an everyday object with a seemingly banal, curvilinear shape to produce something surprisingly harmonious. The sculptures are surrounded by a selection of paintings from the series “Vacanze” by Schulze.
- ORO E D’ARZENTO
THE POOL NYC presents “Oro e d’Arzento” an exhibition devoted to two important materials both in painting, and glass: gold and silver. The exhibition puts together the work of two artists who work with glass, Maria Grazia Rosin and Tristano di Robilant, with five artists from Mongolia, who mainly paint: Baatarzorig Batjargal, Nomin Bold, Esunge, Munkhjargal Munkhuu, Dolgor Serod. The show offers the opportunity to investigate more thoroughly the complexity and purity of glass processing and the discovery of a new artistic current, based in Mongolia, inspired by the Silk Road. Hosted at Palazzo Cesari Marchesi, from September 17 to 25.
- TESSA & TARA SAKHI WITH LE LAB / “I HEAR YOU TREMBLE”
T SAKHI is a multidisciplinary design studio based in Venice, co-founded by Lebanese-Polish sisters Tara and Tessa Sakhi. Following 3 years of research workshops with Venetian glassblowers in Murano, they recuperated metal waste from nearby factories and infused them within the glass to achieve new stone-like glass textures. 15 sculptural vessels ‘Jurat’ (urns in Arabic) are the protagonists of the exhibition “I Hear You Tremble”, set in Chiesa di San Gallo (September 17 – October 14). Bearing resemblance to archaeological cinerary urns placed in tombs, ‘Jurat’ addresses the value of time on objects. Conjuring textures of eroded artefacts, the sisters drew connections of glassmaking between the Venetian lagoon, Ancient Egypt and their Middle Eastern heritage.
- GLASSY CREATURES BY KANZ ARCHITETTI
KANZ Architetti is a multidisciplinary design studio founded in Venice in 2014 by Antonella Maione and Mauro Cazzaro. In the context of product design, in parallel to collaborations with companies of accessories and lighting, they develop the idea of combining the design activity with a close collaboration with local artisan companies to create an independent production. They explore traditional techniques to create shapes suitable for contemporary living and at the same time pay particular attention to the relationship between innovation and technical possibilities.
- MOLLIFIED
“Mollified” ( September 17-25) is the exhibition by Cosima Montavoci and Lorenzo Passi (hosted at Lorenzo Passi Studio, San Marco 3853). The artists offer three series of works, each of which offers a different glimpse into human behavior: resin blocks enfolding “scratch cards” collected from the ground; glass ex-votos depicting body parts; weighing scales covered with a glass “skin”. The exhibition is organized by Elisa Gremmo – Lorenzo Passi – Cosima Montavoci.
THE ITALIAN GLASS WEEKS
Milan, September 10-18 2022
Venice, September 17-25 2022
Discover more: theitalianglassweeks.com
