Venini - Moss New York Tuesday, October 16, 2012 | Phillips

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  • Exhibited

    ‘Fornace Venini: Fires Eternal’, Moss, New York, May 17- July 12, 2003

  • Catalogue Essay

    In 2003, in tribute to the Maestri Vetrai (Master Glassblowers) and Maestri Molatori (Master Engravers and Polishers) of Venini, the renowned Murano glass producer founded in 1921, Moss mounted an exhibition of rare and historic pieces and a new collection of over 60 limited-edition works, titled Fornace Venini: Fires Eternal’. At different moments during the long production cycle, each object produced by Venini embodies a certain beauty particular to that phase of work; these ‘moments’ remain part of the unseen, extraordinary artisanal process that is glassmaking. I asked the glassblowers to interrupt particular phases of the process and, through this intervention, suspended indefinitely in various transitional states iconic designs spanning Venini’s history. Two objects from that exhibition, which are shown here, the ‘Vasi con Cordone Ombelicale’, have been allowed to remain on the blowpipes from which they were born, frozen in the moment just before their usual separation from the pipes, their ‘umbilical cords.’ This had never been attempted before; new processes for the cooling down of the glass on the pipe needed to be invented.

123

Tapio Wirkkala’s ‘Bolle’ vase, in process and Fulvio Bianconi’s ‘Donna’ vase, in process

2003
‘Bolle’: colored glass, iron; ‘Donna’: iridescent clear glass, iron.
‘Bolle’: 75 1/2 in (191.8 cm) long; ‘Donna’: 71 1/2 in (181.6 cm) long
Each produced by Venini, Italy for Moss, USA. Each incised with ‘venini for Moss 17 maggio 2003’.

Estimate
$12,000 - 18,000 

Moss

16 October 2012
New York