Venini

A massive survey of the famed glass firm's unparalleled lighting designs The Italian glass firm Venini, founded in 1921, is famed for its virtuoso uses of Murano glass. Created with a soda-lime "metal" sourced from the beaches of Venice, Murano is unparalleled in quality. Venini elevates this material to exquisite heights, shaping it into beautiful art objects emblazoned with engravings, enamel paint details and intricate folds. This volume is the latest edition from Skira's glass series Le Stanze del Vetroand focuses on the firm's output of lighting design--an area in which Venini has particularly distinguished itself--as produced between 1921 and 1985. Presenting a selection of over 500 cards and 400 illustrations (most previously unseen) encompassing both catalog and preparatory drawings, the volume documents Venini's activity throughout the 20th century, highlighting projects of historical importance, including collaborations with Angiolo Mazzoni in the 1930s, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice (1951) and the Fulda theater in Germany (1978).