the magic of glass: VENINI's one hundred years of refined collections in a photo book

new volume illustrates venini’s century-old history

‘VENINI. The magic of glass’ celebrates one hundred years of refined collections and collaborations in a new volume. The recently published book spotlights the vivid journey of the Murano-based glassmaker, unveiling a series of photographs that honor the brand’s history. The volume is divided into themes, encompassing special contents, archive images, renowned signatures, and special contributions from masters such as Ettore Sottsass, Tadao Ando, Alessandro Mendini, Mario Bellini, Peter Marino, Massimiliano Fuksas, Fabio Novembre, among others.

VENINI’s beginning was marked in 1921 as a symbol of timeless design, tradition, and creativity. Founded by Paolo Venini and Giacomo Cappellin as a family project centered around beauty, today it’s part of the Damiani Group, continuing its unparalleled source of passion and craftsmanship.

Published by Rizzoli and created with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo, ‘VENINI. The magic of glass’ is dotted with photographs taken by Lucrezia Roda, walking the reader through the VENINI glassware universe. As the reader leafs through the book, they can immerse in a burst of colors, examining the pieces in the glass furnaces, the hot and cold processing techniques, and outstanding collectible pieces.

Venini, The magic of glass, Rizzoli

browsing VENINI’S world of glass

‘The passion we have experienced since childhood attracted us to the excellence of this company, but also the multiple affinities between the jewelry world and that of blown glass. VENINI’s master glassmakers, like DAMIANI’s master goldsmiths, preserve an age-old tradition of gestures, secrets, magic, and a technical ability that they put to the test every day, reaching ever higher levels of art, perfection, attention to detail and innovation,’ says Silvia Damiani in the book’s preface. ‘This unique, unrepeatable, priceless artisanal value, handmade in Italy, finds its maximum expression in the creativity and design flair that underpin both VENINI’s and DAMIANI’s style and personality.’

The itinerary contains the brand‘s iconic works exhibited in the world’s most important museums, such as ‘Fazzoletto (1949)’, a collaboration between Paolo Venini and Fulvio Bianconi at New York’s MoMA. The pieces play with transparencies, volumes, shapes, and colors, highlighting VENINI’s signature identity. The brand’s collection includes iconic pieces such as ‘Medusa’ and ‘Nebulosa’ by Sottsass, the cylinder vases by Thomas Stearns, Fragments by Fernando and Humberto Campana, and the tableware collection by Ambasciata.

image ©Lucrezia Roda

‘VENINI is an integral part of what I love about Venice. It promotes the age-old culture of the art of hand-blown glass,’ explains Peter Marino, author of the foreword. ‘I am not the first designer to sense the creativity of all the architects and designers who have passed through VENINI since 1921. Working with VENINI is a unique experience because it is the only glassmaker to have revolutionized Murano glass by contaminating an ancient tradition with contemporary design. I was excited by the prospect of my thoughts, my ideas, my impulses entering the VENINI world, with its colours and originality, and opening up a new way for my creativity to express itself.’