The Island of San Giorgio Maggiore awaits you with two not-to-be-missed exhibition venues devoted to glass and photography, respectively: LE STANZE DEL VETRO and Le Stanze della Fotografia. Starting today, a special promotion will allow visitors to gain even more out of their experience on the island!

These two ‘STANZE’ are affording all visitors a special offer: those visiting LE STANZE DEL VETRO will be entitled to a reduced ticket for Le Stanze della Fotografia, while visitors to Le Stanze della Fotografia will be able to purchase catalogues of past exhibitions at LE STANZE DEL VETRO at a 10% discount.

Don’t miss this opportunity: we await you on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore!

This volume examines the significant period which saw Murano glass gradually finding its place at the Venice Biennale, first through the artists choosing to use this material for their works, and later through the glassworks, sometimes drawing upon the creativity of painters and sculptors. The catalogue, which is the result of extensive bibliographic and documentary research in the Biennale historical archive, as well as in public and private archives, features period photographs, drawings, and documents, many previously unpublished, showcasing the works exhibited in the various Biennales, focusing, in particular, over 130 works by artists and glassmakers who played a leading role in a historical moment marking the entry of a so-called minor art into the realm of major arts.

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It is not long now until 14 April 2024, when the next exhibition at LE STANZE DEL VETRO will open to the public: 1912-1930 Murano glass and the Venice Biennale. But we’re not just sitting twiddling our thumbs while we wait: quite the opposite, in fact! We’re taking the opportunity to explore together all the remarkable exhibitions dedicated to the art of glassmaking from the 20th century to the present-day, staged from 2012 onwards on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. After the focus in January on the exhibitions up to 2015, we are now taking a look at the key stages in the history of LE STANZE DEL VETRO from 2016 to 2019.

The first exhibition in 2016, curated by Rinald Franz, was The Glass of the Architects. Vienna 1900 – 1937, and it displayed to the public the legendary production of the key figures in Viennese Modernism through works from the collections of the MAK in Vienna.

The exhibition Paolo Venini and His Furnace, on the other hand, inaugurated in the autumn of 2016, celebrated the visionary activities of Paolo Venini, the founder of the Venini glassworks, as well as the incredibly rich production of the artists who collaborated with him over the years: Gio Ponti, Piero Fornasetti, Massimo Vignelli and Tobia Scarpa to name just a few.

2017 began with the exhibition Ettore Sottsass: the Glass, curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, celebrating the centenary of Sottsass’s birth with many works on show for the first time. In the autumn of the same year, LE STANZE DEL VETRO exhibited the works of Vittorio Zecchin, the artistic director of the V.S.M. Cappellin Venini & C. glassware company from 1921 to 1925, with an exhibition curated by Marino Barovier: Vittorio Zecchin. Transparent glass for Cappellin and Venini. Zecchin’s works in glass are characterized by their classical proportions and clean lines, in contrast with the typical Murano production of the time.

A Furnace in Marseille. Cirva, curated by Isabelle Reiher and Chiara Bertola, was inaugurated in 2018, and was dedicated to CIRVA (the Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre et les Arts Plastiques) in Marseille. Staged unusually at two different venues (LE STANZE DEL VETRO and the Fondazione Querini Stampalia), the exhibition displayed works by 17 artists, dedicating a gallery to each one, exploring the full period each artist spent at the Marseille furnace.

In the autumn of 2018, LE STANZE DEL VETRO hosted the exhibition The M.V.M. Cappellin Glassworks and the Young Carlo Scarpa 1925-1931, curated by Marino Barovier: a comprehensive account of the history of the glassworks as a whole, with a particular focus on the influence of the young Carlo Scarpa, who played an important role in the company’s production from 1926 to 1931.

In 2019, LE STANZE DEL VETRO featured a French artist whose work paved the way for much of contemporary glass production. The exhibition Maurice Marinot. The Glass, 1911 – 1934 shone a light on a versatile artist who was still not well-known to the general public. 2019 ended with an exhibition on the history and works of another foreign artist who made his mark on the history of Murano: Thomas Stearns at Venini, curated by Marino Barovier. After an initial period during which he familiarized himself with the Murano techniques, this American artist brought some totally innovative approaches that led to the creation of some highly successful works during the 1960s.

Our next exhibition, 1912-1930 Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale, will soon be opening to the public; while you are waiting to see it, take a look with us at the exhibitions of LE STANZE DEL VETRO from 2020 to 2023.

In 2020, as a result of the pandemic, LE STANZE DEL VETRO only opened one exhibition, Venice and American Studio Glass, curated by Tina Oldknow and William Warmus and dedicated to the influence that Venetian glassmaking has had on American glass production from the 1960s to today. One of the objectives of the exhibition was to show how Venetian glass production has left a long and flourishing legacy overseas too.

The first exhibition of 2021 was the unforgettable The Glass Ark. Animals in the Pierre Rosenberg collection, curated by Giordana Naccari and Cristina Beltrami: it traced the history of 20th century Murano glass with the focus on glass animals. Over 750 pieces from the private collection of Pierre Rosenberg were on display, presented in a child-friendly way, with an amazing, specially designed exhibition layout.

2021 concluded with two exhibitions curated by Marino Barovier, aimed at showing another fundamental chapter in the history of the Venini glassworks: Tapio Wirkkala at Venini and Toni Zuccheri at Venini. The two artists proved fundamental in the development of the Venini glassworks from the 1960s: Zuccheri contributed by introducing the production of farmyard animals and coloured glass inspired by the plant kingdom, while the Finnish artist Wirkkala introduced the Nordic taste so distinctive of his work to Venice

FontanaArte. House of Glass, curated by Christian Larsen, was the first show of 2022, offering a critical retrospective of the glass furnishing accessories produced by this legendary Milan company through an analysis of the creative repertoire and the production periods of the four great artistic directors: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.

And of course, we cannot fail to mention the marvellous chapter Venini: Light 1921-1985, curated by Marino Barovier, that examined the production of the Venini glassworks in the field of lighting, highlighting the most significant experiences from 1921 to 1985.

Finally, 2023 also featured the exhibition Bohemian Glass: The Great Masters, curated by Caterina Tognon and Sylva Petrová and staged in collaboration with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. Through a stunning selection of works and photographs, the exhibition told the fascinating story of glass production in Bohemia in the 20th century.

We have just bid 2023 farewell and we are already looking forward to 14 April 2024, when we will have the opportunity to discover the next exhibition of LE STANZE DEL VETRO: ‘1912-1930 Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale’. However, we will not spend these three months leading up to the inauguration sitting on our hands, because there are so many outstanding exhibitions devoted to the beauty of 20th-century and contemporary Murano and international glass art that have found a home on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore since 2012.

Our trip down memory lane begins with the exhibitions devoted to the history of the renowned Venini glassworks, starting with ‘Carlo Scarpa. Venini 1932-1947’, the very first exhibition at LE STANZE DEL VETRO, curated by Marino Barovier, which between 2012 and 2013 reconstructed Carlo Scarpa’s creative path during his years as artistic director of the well-known Murano glassworks (from 1932 to 1947).

This exhibition was followed by others, all curated by Marino Barovier, such as ‘Napoleone Martinuzzi. Venini 1925-1931’, ‘Tomaso Buzzi at Venini’ and ‘Fulvio Bianconi at Venini’, which presented the most significant works produced by Venini over the years through its collaboration with these sculptors, architects and designers.

The contemporary strand instead was launched in 2013 with the exhibition ‘Fragile?’, curated by Mario Codognato, focusing on the works of some of the most interesting artists of our time, who have used glass with the most varied and contrasting intents and outcomes (Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Beuys, Gilbert & George, Ai Weiwei, Rachel Whiteread and Carsten Nicolai, among many others). Then in 2014 it was the turn of ‘I Santillana’, with the magnificent works of the siblings Laura de Santillana and Alessandro Diaz de Santillana.

The following year, LE STANZE DEL VETRO turned its attention to Northern Europe with the exhibition ‘Glass from Finland in the Bischofberger Collection’, curated by Kaisa Koivisto and Pekka Korvenmaa, which presented masterpieces by the leading Finnish designers of the 20th century.

The LE STANZE DEL VETRO catalogues are a precious tool to find out in depth about the marvellous world of glass production today and in the 20th century.

If you want to discover more about the influence Venetian glass had around the world, we suggest the Venice and American Studio Glass catalogue, a detailed study dedicated to American glass production from the 1960s to today, with particular attention to the role of the Venetian influence. The volume explores how Venetian and American artists breathed a fresh artistic aesthetic into a historic tradition of craftsmanship, creating wonderful works of art.

The Glass Ark. Animals in the Pierre Rosenberg collection, published in 2021 on the occasion of the exhibition of that name at LE STANZE DEL VETRO, looks instead at the Venetian production of glass animals through the unique collection of Pierre Rosenberg, President – Honorary Director of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The catalogue contains an interview with this eclectic collector along with further in-depth analysis by the exhibition curators, Cristina Beltrami and Giordana Naccari, as well as by Jean-Luc Olivié, conservator of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and glass historian Rosa Barovier Mentasti.

The catalogues Tapio Wirkkala at Venini and Toni Zuccheri at Venini (only available in English) describe two fundamental chapters in the history of the Venini glassworks. Although these artists worked during different periods, they reveal themselves to be key to an in-depth understanding of Venini’s production and history.

If you are interested in Italian design, we recommend the FontanaArte. House of Glass catalogue, which gathers together in one book the production of glass furnishing accessories designed by FontanaArte in the 20th century, the golden century of Italian design; and also Venini Light 1921 – 1985, a book that brings together in over 500 entries the most significant creations of the Venini glassworks in the field of lighting, accompanied by a large number of photographs.

If, on the other hand, you want to explore the rich and fascinating story of European glass production in the 20th century, Bohemian Glass: The Great Masters is the book for you. It describes in a highly innovative way the evolution of Bohemian glass, which became the favoured medium for artistic sculpture.

The LE STANZE DEL VETRO catalogues are available from our website. A rich collection of volumes that explores the stunning glass production from the 20th century to the present-day.

To find out more about the activities of the celebrated Venini glassworks, we suggest starting with the Paolo Venini and His Furnace catalogue (only available in English): drawing on many previously unexhibited works, the catalogue traces the activities of the founder of Venini and the collaborations he established with numerous different artists over the years: Gio Ponti, Piero Fornasetti, Ken Scott and Tobia Scarpa to name just a few. The catalogue Vittorio Zecchin. Transparent Glass for Cappellin and Venini is another must, analysing Zecchin’s work as artistic director of the glassworks from 1921 to 1926, during which he designed some extraordinary pieces of monochrome blown glass for the company. And moving metaphorically beyond the boundaries of Venice, Thomas Stearns at Venini describes the path followed by this innovative American artist who revolutionized Murano glass production during the 1960s.

The catalogue The M.V.M. Cappellin Glassworks and the Young Carlo Scarpa 1925 – 1931 is dedicated to the history of the Cappellin glassworks with particular focus on the contribution of the young architect and designer Carlo Scarpa.

Ettore Sottsass: the Glass (only available in Italian), published on the occasion of the exhibition celebrating the centenary of Sottsass’s birth, documents for the first time the glass production of this remarkable designer.

If, on the other hand, your curiosity is piqued by European glass production in the early 20th century, we recommend The Glass of the Architects. Vienna 1900 – 1937, which tells the story of the key figures in Viennese Modernism such as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Adolf Loos, who first paved the way to new developments in Viennese glass production; and Maurice Marinot. The Glass, 1911 – 1934, documents the production of this French artist from the start of his career to his experiments with the most original techniques to produce works destined to become iconic.

The catalogues of LE STANZE DEL VETRO make a fine collection. Don’t miss these exquisite volumes, which delve into the history not only of the Venini glassworks – made up of masterpieces of masters who left a mark on the 20th century – but also of contemporary glass.

To relive the history of the Venini glassworks, we recommend: Napoleone Martinuzzi. Venini 1925-1931, which traces the Murano sculptor’s entire oeuvre through a series of about 600 works, identified through extensive and rigorous research; Tomaso Buzzi at Venini, a reconstruction of the architect’s glass production, which was rather fragmentary as only a few examples of it were known; and Fulvio Bianconi at Venini, presenting an exciting chapter in Bianconi’s career by illustrating all the items he designed for the renowned glassworks.

If you instead wish to learn more about contemporary glass, don’t miss Fragile?, featuring masterpieces by international artists who have also used glass as a medium for their poetics – from Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Beuys to Ai Weiwei, Damien Hirst, Giovanni Anselmo and Jannis Kounellis, to name but a few; and I Santillana, which explores the dual universe of siblings Laura de Santillana and Alessandro Diaz de Santillana, the descendants of a legendary glassmaking dynasty who trained in the footsteps of their father, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, and grandfather, Paolo Venini.

If you want to explore the exhibition that has recently closed at LE STANZE DEL VETRO, hurry up and buy the catalogue Bohemian Glass: the Great Masters with a free tote bag!

If one catalogue is not enough, we are offering you three: Tomaso Buzzi at Venini, Vittorio Zecchin. Transparent Glass for Cappellin and Venini, Napoleone Martinuzzi. Venini 1925-1931 are on sale at the special price of just €99.

Lastly, if you want to discover more about Venice’s influence upon equally important glass producers elsewhere, we recommend Venice and American Studio Glass and Thomas Stearns at Venini at the price of €60 or Venice and American Studio Glass on sale together with Bohemian Glass: the Great Masters at €55.

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To learn more about the relationship between Murano and the United States we suggest the catalogues Thomas Stearns at Venini and Venice and American Studio Glass. In the second half of the 20th century, Murano and American artists came closer thanks to the active role played by the Venini glassworks, which – first with Paolo Venini and then with Ludovico Diaz de Santillana – became a venue for research and experimentation that inspired artists and designers all over the world.

In particular, Venice and American Studio Glass and Thomas Stearns at Venini present the Studio Glass movement in relation to Venice and the entire glass production by the young American artist who was a guest designer at Venini for two years. Don’t miss the opportunity this month to purchase both catalogues at the special total price of €60.

Christmas is arriving early at LE STANZE DEL VETRO! We look forward to seeing you on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore to discover promotions on all merchandising products including tote bags, cards, magnets, gadgets, pencils and more! 

Do not forget that shipping costs in Italy above €70 are free.

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