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Fulvio Bianconi Venini Model 4319 Patchwork Pezzato Vase Murano, Italy, 1950’s

Name: Fulvio Bianconi Venini Model 4319 Patchwork Pezzato Vase Murano, Italy, 1950’s
Brand: Fulvio Bianconi
Price: 18000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Large Venini Pezzato vase model 4319 designed by Fulvio Bianconi circa 1950’s. Vase retains its original acid signature Venini Murano Italia. Born in Padua, Bianconi exhibited a precocious talent for drawing and earned a living as a portraitist while still a teenager. He moved to Milan to pursue graphic design before joining the army. During WWII, he survived a dramatic escape by clinging to cornice of his house to evade a Nazi raid. In the years following the war, Bianconi designed glass artworks for Paolo Venini, whose Muranese glass workshop was noted for unusually inviting creative individuals in all disciplines to join his community. From 1947 Bianconi was a crucial designer for Venini; his playful approach and ironic forms in bold colours became a hallmark for Venini and exerted a strong influence on glassworks throughout the island. He was responsible for the famous series of figures from the Commedia dell'Arte, and designed the 'handkerchief' vase which became the incarnation 1950s style. In 1950, he caused a sensation at the XXV Venice Biennale where he exhibited his 'Pezzati', a virtuoso culmination of his experiments with a new patchwork technique. Fiercely independent by nature, Bianconi was keen to work with different glass studios: Cenedese in 1954, and Vistosi in 1963, among others. Notwithstanding forays with competitors, Bianconi and Paolo Venini maintained close ties until the latter's death in 1959. Bianconi was one of the first artists to fully utilise technical developments in glass to celebrate the material for its intrinsic visual qualities rather than limiting its application to utilitarian objects . Regarding it akin to sculptural clay, Bianconi, in tandem with master glassblowers, shaped molten glass in unconventional shapes and designs. His work is extensively exhibited in museum collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Creator:

Fulvio Bianconi (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)Width: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)Depth: 3.25 in (8.26 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Blown Glass

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

1950s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. Good original condition with no chips, cracks, or restorations.

Seller Location:

Ann Arbor, MI

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU6641228171712

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Shop All Fulvio Bianconi

Fulvio Bianconi

For a range of work that includes everything from illustrating thousands of books and other publications to his role as a visionary glassmaker, Fulvio Bianconi is remembered as one of the most innovative cross-disciplinarian artists of the postwar era.

Born in Ponte di Brenta in 1915, Bianconi showed a prodigious talent for drawing at an early age and, as a teenager, earned money as a portraitist. He also worked as an apprentice decorator in his youth at the Murano glass furnaces, where he first discovered the art of glassmaking.

In 1933, he moved to Milan to pursue a career as a graphic artist, and it was there he met Dino Villani, a painter who had ties to some of Milan’s most prestigious publishing houses and advertising firms. However, at the onset of World War II, Bianconi paused his graphic design ambitions and joined the army. In 1944, he narrowly escaped the infamous Via Rasella Nazi raids in German-occupied Rome.

Following the war, Bianconi went to work designing perfume bottles for the Milan perfume house Giviemme at Venini glassworks, where he worked with glass masters Ermete and Arturo Biassuto. Bianconi became one of Venini’s most influential glass designers — and was appointed artistic director following Carlo Scarpa — known for his bold use of color, modern style and unique, playful designs. Among his most iconic works are the series of glass figures from the Commedia dell’Arte, the remarkably fluid “handkerchief” vases and bowls, and the patchwork “Pezzato” technique, which caused a sensation at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950.

Bianconi worked with several other glass studios, including Cenedese in 1954 and Vistosi in 1963, creating decorative vases, bowls, hourglasses and sculptures. He was also a graphic designer with the Italian publishing house Garzanti for nearly 30 years. Bianconi’s portfolio of graphic design included work for FIAT, Pathé and Pirelli, among others.

Bianconi’s glassworks are held in museum collections worldwide, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The artist died in 1996.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Fulvio Bianconi decorative objects, glassware and lighting.