kengo kuma, philippe starck, and more illuminate venice with murano glass chandeliers

Murano Illumina il Mondo celebrates Glass art in venice

Murano Illumina il Mondo 2024, a spin-off of The Venice Glass Week, highlights the artistry of Murano glass through contemporary interpretations of the chandelier. Curated in St. Mark’s Square, this public installation illuminates the vaults of the Procuratie Vecchie until March 4, 2025. Internationally acclaimed artists and designers—including Joseph Kosuth, Philippe Starck, and Kengo Kuma—collaborate with master Murano glassmakers, presenting eleven works that celebrate Venetian glass heritage and explore artistic boundaries.

Each piece transforms the chandelier, an everyday object, into a statement of artistic inquiry. These creations, realized by prestigious Murano furnaces, reflect remarkable technical potential and experimentation. The exhibition, aptly named Murano Lights Up The World, offers Venetians and visitors an experience at the intersection of art, design, and local culture.

Colpo di vento, artist Kimiko Yoshida, glass master Gianni Seguso, furnace Seguso Gianni Murano | all images by Giorgio Bombieri

Highlights include designs by kengo kuma and philippe starck

Made possible through collaborations with esteemed institutions such as Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Pentagram Stiftung, and Consorzio Promovetro Murano, Murano Illumina il Mondo 2024 serves as a testament to the legacy and contemporary relevance of Murano glassmaking. The second edition of the annual showcase invites viewers to experience the convergence of tradition, innovation, and the transformative power of light. transforming the chandelier into a canvas for artistic experimentation.

Kengo Kuma’s dieXe reimagines the chandelier as an homage to Venice, incorporating interlocking Salviati glass modules in the iconic peacock green that mirrors the hues of the lagoon. The Japanese architect’s design philosophy often revolves around the concept of parcelling, which he explores through a reinterpretation of Venetian traditions.

Philippe Starck, in collaboration with Aristide Najean, explores surrealism with a dark amethyst chandelier, embodying mystery, beauty, and poetic oddity. Joseph Kosuth’s Enlighten’s the Word transforms the Rezzonico chandelier into a reflective, abstract form, engaging with philosophical notions of the Enlightenment.

dieXe, artist Kengo Kuma, furnace Salviati

Conceptual and Symbolic Explorations of the chandelier

Murano Illumina il Mondo 2024 continues to explore the potential of glass as a medium for artistic expression. Kimiko Yoshida and Gianni Seguso create a chandelier that captures the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms, blending the delicate intricacies of Venetian rococo with the serene elegance of Japanese minimalism. Meanwhile, Deborah Czeresko and Massimiliano Schiavon take the familiar form of the chandelier and transform its arms into serpentine shapes, invoking themes of transformation and renewal. Fiedler O Mastrangelo, on the other hand, present Solomon Chopsticks, where abstract lines and light merge into a reflection on eternity and the nature of the creative journey.

Other designers bring fresh perspectives as well, such as Marina and Susanna Sent, Hans Weigand, Emmanuel Babled, and Arturo Tedeschi. The Sent sisters’ pendant light is inspired by Venetian fishing nets, while Hans Weigand’s piece contrasts the delicate fragility of glass with the robust form of concrete. Arturo Tedeschi, combining cutting-edge AI and precision crafting, produces a crystalline polyhedral chandelier that appears to float. Other works also embrace the transformative nature of glass, such as Emmanuel Babled’s Digit Light, a chandelier composed of 23 hand-blown glass spheres and 8 light sources inspired by 1960s pop culture. The AZ2024 chandelier by Istituto Abate Zanetti students brings to life organic mirrored and sandblasted crystal spheres. Together, these works exemplify the synergy between Murano’s rich tradition of glassmaking and the exciting creative possibilities offered by contemporary artists.

TransFormation by Deborah Czeresko, glass master Giorgio Valentini, Claudio Zama e Massimiliano Schiavon + Wili Bardella (moleria), furnace Massimiliano Schiavon Art Team

Digit Light, artist Emmanuel Babled, master Marino Gabrielli, furnace NasonMoretti

Venetian Wavebreakers Chandelier, artist Hans Weigand, glass master Nicola Causin, furnace Berengo Studio

Inariaa, artist Arturo Tedeschi, master Nicola Moretti e Stefano Bullo, furnace Nicola Moretti + Vetrate Artistiche Murano

Quadri, artists Philippe Starck, Aristide Najean, furnace Najean

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Digit Light, artist Emmanuel Babled, master Marino Gabrielli, furnace NasonMoretti

TransFormation by Deborah Czeresko, glass master Giorgio Valentini, Claudio Zama e Massimiliano Schiavon + Wili Bardella (moleria), furnace Massimiliano Schiavon Art Team