Heir to a know-how, Murano glass became part of a broad movement of artistic modernization in the 20th century.
As early as the interwar period, the opening of glassworks to creators of decorative arts and architecture encouraged unprecedented collaborations, marked by the experimentation of materials and the reinterpretation of traditional techniques. In the 1950s, when Murano works were presented at the Venice Biennales, this modernity manifested itself through a simplification of forms, a search for the purity of volumes, and a renewed exploration of color and transparency. From the 1980s onwards, production shifted towards the creation of unique pieces, conceived as means of personal expression.
Gathering more than two hundred and fifty works from public and private collections, the exhibition highlights the main Murano glassmakers – Venini, Barovier & Toso, Seguso Ferri d’Arte, Fratelli Toso, and A.Ve.M. – as well as thirty-five major figures of this glassmaking craft, from 1920 to the present day.