That St Mark’s Square is an extraordinary open-air sitting-room is not a mystery, but this year a series of incredible signature chandeliers lit up the famous salon for a one-of-a-kind public art project. Twelve glass marvels installed under the vaults of Procuratie Vecchie will brighten the Venetian nights until the end of February.
The project “Murano illumina il mondo”, sponsored by The Venice Glass Week and the City of Venice, puts the spotlight on the art of Murano glassmaking with its unparalleled versatility and the ability to translate ideas into glass. Twenty-four internationally renowned artists took part with their original projects and a committee of experts selected twelve of them for as many available spaces. Thanks to the contribution of nine furnaces, in the space of only four months twelve unique works purpose-built for this exhibition project were created in Murano.
Here are the names of the artists: Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg, Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, Federica Marangoni, Michael Craig-Martin, Ritsue Mishima, Cornelia Parker, Maria Grazia Rosin, Silvano Rubino, Lino Tagliapietra, Giorgio Vigna, Pae White.
The project involved historic Murano glass-making companies such as Barovier & Toso, Simone Cenedese and Gianni Seguso, some famous glass masters and not least the students of Glass School Abate Zanetti.
Seagulls, fireworks...and spaceships.
All the artists have reinterpreted and transformed an object of daily use such as the chandelier in a real artwork. The common goal is to bring visibility to Murano Island not only as a craft industry but also as source of new ideas and an international experimentation centre.
Behind the scene of the project.
I had the pleasure of having a talk with Giordana Naccari, involved by David Landau in the role of project coordinator for her great passion and knowledge about Murano glass. She was entrusted with the difficult task of translating the sketches into chandeliers by linking each artist with the most suitable furnace to turn the single design idea into glass. She had to juggle among permits, constraints of the monuments authority and engineering studies of the supporting structures in order to ensure the safety of the works in glass. Yes, let’s not forget that usually a chandelier is hung in a private house, certainly not in a public place crowded with tourists.
Giordana not only matched the artists’ projects to the various furnaces according to their specialities but she selected also the places where the chandeliers have been displayed. For example, Maria Grazia Rosin’s work is located right in front of the entrance of Caffè Quadri where the pastel tones of the chandelier are exactly those of the stucco of the historical restaurant.
It’s been a long few months of constant communication between artists and glass masters to implement the ideas in glass. “It was a challenging project – Giordana confesses – I was doubtful if we would make it, but on 24th November the chandeliers were in their places and despite the exhausting day of installation from 5 AM to 8 PM in the end I was satisfied to have given to St Mark’s Square some unique masterpieces with a non-invasive operation”.
After the event the chandeliers will go back to the institution or furnace that sponsored them, sometimes to the artist himself, and they can replicate them in a limited edition of five pieces.
The initiative was so much appreciated that the merchants of St Mark already requested to repeat it next year. Other shop owners of the famous square would like to have the chandeliers, expanding the number of the works on display. For now, this is only a proposal, so let’s enjoy the beauty of these artworks that celebrate the greatness of Murano glass in an exceptional location.
Photo credits: The Venice Glass Week
Ph. Renato Greco, Marco Sabbadin, Marco Valmarana
Cover Photo: Segmenti d’Infinito, Silvano Rubino, fornace Seguso Gianni, ph Marco Valmarana
