1932-1942 Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale

The new exhibition 1932-1942 Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale, curated by Marino Barovier, will run at LE STANZE DEL VETRO from 13 April to 23 November 2025.

The second chapter dedicated by LE STANZE DEL VETRO to the history of Murano glass at the Venice Biennale will examine the time period from 1932 to 1942 – that is, from the 18th to the 23rd Biennale, a time span corresponding respectively to the inauguration of the Venice Pavilion (1932) and to the last edition of the Biennale before the interruption caused by the Second World War.

Since 1932, Murano glass was featured at the Biennale in a dedicated space, the Venice Pavilion, built specifically for the decorative arts on the initiative of the ‘Istituto Veneto per il Lavoro’. The value and quality of the so-called minor arts were thus officially recognized, and a selection of them was chosen to be presented to the general public at the Venice Art Biennale.

Thanks to the recurrent staging of this prestigious event, such exhibits had a profound effect on Murano, which over the course of successive editions took the opportunity to present its best glass works, making the most of the impetus provided by the Biennale. The Venice Biennale not only served as an outstanding showcase, but through its artistic vibrancy and international reach it provided fruitful exposure to glassworks and the world of artistic glass in all its complexity.

Among the furnaces, Venini stood out thanks to the collaboration with Carlo Scarpa, while Barovier Seguso Ferro, later Seguso Vetri d’Arte, availed itself of the partnership with Flavio Poli; the painter Dino Martens first collaborated with Salviati and Successori Rioda, and then with Aureliano Toso. Other glassworks that,in those years, exploited the potential of the glass medium are AVEM, the historic furnace Barovier, Cirillo Maschio, Ulderico Moretti, S.A.I.A.R. Ferro Toso, Fratelli Toso, VAMSA and S.A.L.I.R.

1932-1942 Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale, accompanied by a catalogue edited by Marino Barovier and Carla Sonego, aims to show the works that were on display in those editions and to illustrate them through period documents.