Michelangelo Foundation
Homo Faber Event
Le Stanze del Vetro
Produced by: Pentagram Stiftung with Fondazione Giorgio Cini
The Michelangelo Foundation Presents
Le Stanze del Vetro
THE M.V.M. CAPPELLIN GLASSWORKS AND THE YOUNG CARLO SCARPA 1925-1931 curated by Marino Barovier
The autumn exhibition at LE STANZE DEL VETRO, curated by Marino Barovier
Visitors to Homo Faber will have an extra opportunity to experience fine craftsmanship by paying a visit to LE STANZE DEL VETRO, a permanent exhibition space at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini dedicated to glass. The Michelangelo Foundation is delighted that the autumn exhibition M.V.M. Cappellin glassworks and the Young Carlo Scarpa 1925-1931 (10 September 2018-6 January 2019) will also run alongside Homo Faber. Discover the history of this important Murano glassworks, the passion of its founder Giacomo Cappellin and the involvement of the brilliant young Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, whose contribution helped turn the company into one of the best glassmakers in Venice.
Geometric designs
Discover the geometric glass objects typical of the designs of Carlo Scarpa, who joined Cappellin in 1926 after graduating from Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts. Fascinated by craftsmanship, materials and form, the young architect gradually gained influence at the company and had a certain freedom to create his own designs. He left in 1931 and a year later joined the Venini glassworks, where his revolutionary glass design career continued.
Form and materials
During these crucial years Cappellin was constantly researching form, materials and style, resulting in new glass pieces of exceptional quality. The company often drew on traditional production techniques such as fenicio decoration, which creates colourful patterns like a bird’s plumage, and reticello filigree, a difficult technique practised only in Venice in which twisted layers of clear glass with white threads are fused together, trapping small bubbles of air.
Discover the story
The documentation about the Cappellin glassworks was dispersed after its bankruptcy. The company’s story is told here for the very first time thanks to the reconstruction of its complete production catalogue, as yet unpublished, drawn from various archives. The catalogue of the exhibition is edited by Marino Barovier and Carla Sonego, and published by Skira for LE STANZE DEL VETRO.
This exhibition features in the second edition of The Venice Glass Week, the international festival dedicated to glass art, particularly that of Murano, taking place from 9 to 16 September 2018. The festival is promoted by the City of Venice, the Fondazione Musei Civici, the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti and the Consorzio Promovetro Murano. Over 150 participants have registered, with a total of 180 events, conferences, workshops, educational activities and open days at furnaces.
Your visit
Venue: LE STANZE DEL VETRO, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, San Giorgio Maggiore island, Venice.
Opening times: 10 September 2018 to 6 January 2019, 10am to 7pm, closed on Wednesdays.
LE STANZE DEL VETRO will be exceptionally open on Wednesday 12th September.
Pentagram Stiftung with Fondazione Giorgio Cini
LE STANZE DEL VETRO is a long-term joint initiative between Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Pentagram Stiftung devoted to studying the art of glassmaking in the 20th and 21st centuries. The activities organized within the LE STANZE DEL VETRO project are coordinated by a scientific committee comprising Luca Massimo Barbero (chairman), Marino Barovier, Rosa Barovier Mentasti, David Landau, Jean-Luc Olivié, Giorgio Vigna and Nico Stringa.
lestanzedelvetro.org