1948-1958. Murano Glass and the Venice Biennale
English translation of the exhibition catalogue published by Marislio Arte.
Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 19 April – 22 November 2026
The third chapter of the exhibition cycle, which explores the presence of Murano glass at the Venice Biennale, examines the decade from 1948 to 1958. This spans from the resumption of the Biennale’s activities after the end of the Second World War through the entire 1950s.
Always hosted within the Venice Pavilion, the glass exhibitions of that period testified to the renewed vitality of Murano production through the works of both historic glassworks and newly established furnaces, as well as individual artists participating in their own right.
This decade represented an exceptionally fertile period for Murano as well, in tune with the broader creative dynamism of the era.
Leading the period were historic glass furnaces such as Venini, with works by Fulvio Bianconi and Paolo Venini; Barovier & Toso, with glass pieces by Ercole Barovier; Seguso Vetri d’Arte, with Flavio Poli; Aureliano Toso, with Dino Martens; Fratelli Toso, with Ermanno Toso; and AVEM, with the research of Giulio Radi, Giorgio Ferro, and Anzolo Fuga; as well as the engraving workshop S.A.L.I.R.
Also exhibiting in the Venice Pavilion were more recently established glassworks such as Gino Cenedese, and those founded by skilled master glassmakers including Alfredo Barbini and Archimede Seguso. In parallel, several artists—including Ezio Rizzetto and Anzolo Fuga, but above all the Spatialist artist Vinicio Vianello—developed a particular interest in glass, using it as an expressive medium.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, edited by Marino Barovier and Carla Sonego, which aims to illustrate the objects displayed in these editions also through period documents.