9 June 2015
Il vetro finlandese nella collezione Bischofberger
Le Stanze del Vetro
A cura di Kaisa Koivisto e Pekka Korvenmaa
Venezia
April, 13 > August 2, 2015
Le Stanze del Vetro on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, in Venice, is a long-term exhibition project born out of the collaboration between the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Pentagram Stiftung, devoted to promotion of the art of glass. The seat of the foundation, which is located just a few miles from the historic glassworks of Murano, will host until August 2 the exhibition Glass from Finland in the Bischofberger Collection, conceived by Kaisa Koivisto, curator at the Finnish Glass Museum, Riihimäki, and Pekka Korvenmaa, professor of design at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki. For lovers of Scandinavian design it is a unique opportunity to admire over 300 pieces of glassware, including drinking glasses, pitchers and vases, and to reflect on the characteristics of Finnish glassworking. The collection of the Swiss gallerists Bruno and Christina Bischofberger covers the period from 1930 to 1980 and comprises creations by Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino, Arttu Brummer, Kaj Franck, Göran Hongell, Gunnel Nyman, Timo Sarpaneva and Oiva Toikka, as well as Tapio Wirkkala, the centenary of whose birth falls in 2015. The show concentrates on two fundamental aspects: the early creations of the thirties and the international success of the fifties, due largely to exhibitions at the Milan Triennale. There are many themes that emerge from observation of the works on display: the dialogue and comparison between the one-off piece, of an artistic and emotional character, and industrial production, careful to balance aesthetics and function; the stylistic inspiration that often draws on forms of natural origin; the relationship with Italian glass cultivated in part through collaborations between artisans, designers and glassworks; the significant female presence (two of the nine are women), something highly unusual for the time; and finally the parsimonious and skillful use of color, which is illuminated in the exhibition by a wise piece of advice from Kaj Franck. In 1957 Franck told the young Oiva Toikka: “Wait before you use color, you’ll have time to do it later.”
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Photo: Enrico Fiorese.
Aino Aalto, Pitcher and tumblers, 1936.
Alvar Aalto, Aalto-kukka (Aalto Flower), Plate, bowls and vase, 1939.
Alvar Aalto, Vase, 1937.
Arttu Brummer, Finlandia, 1945.
Kaj Franck, Bottle with schnapps glass, 1960.
Gunnel Nyman, Serpentin (Streamer), 1947.