The Colors Of Murano

Colori di Murano: Modern Glass Art from Italy in the Bröhan Museum is an exhibit of 20th-century Venetian glass art from the Holz Collection in Berlin. The show also offers insights into the process of designing and producing the pieces.

Lino Tagliapietra, vases. Photo Bröhan-Museum

After a checkered history, the group of islands in the Venetian lagoon now enjoys a highly creative phase that began in the 1950s. Protagonists of the studio glass movement (e.g. the Americans Dale Chihuly, Stephen Rolfe Powell and Robin Mix) first designed pieces for glass manufactories on the island in the 1960s. Freelance artists and designers (e.g. the Japanese Yoichi Ohira) also collaborated with the glassmakers. The show presents circa 220 glass objects, including early murrine glass objects by the Fratelli Toso, vases by Fulvio Bianconi from the 1950s, and largeformat studio glass objects. The collector Lutz H. Holz amassed an important glass collection that also features design sketches and historic photos. This show marks the first presentation of the Holz Collection in its home city of Berlin. The Italian Cultural Institute in Berlin is presenting other pieces from the Holz Collection in Glass Art from Murano: Masterpieces from the Holz Collection (till September 23, 2016).