Venice, the Berengo Foundation and Berengo Studio present the exhibition GLASSTRESS 8?

The Berengo Foundation and Berengo Studio present GLASSTRESS 8½, curated by Umberto Croppi at Tesa 99 of the North Arsenale in Venice and the Berengo Art Space Foundation in Murano, an exhibition open free to the public from April 20 to November 24, 2024. Coinciding with the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice, GLASSTRESS returns to its original venue with a foray to Tesa 99 in the North Arsenale. The title of the exhibition, in a tribute to Fellini, is intended to recall the eighth edition of GLASSTRESS at the Fondazione Berengo Art Space in Murano to which is added an “expanded” edition where 1/2 indicates the two large unseen installations that are set up in the space of Tesa 99 at the North Arsenale. Here a monumental work by Koen Vanmechelen and an installation by Sabine Wiedenhofer have found their place.

Vanmechelen ’s work is complemented by one of his interventions in front of the Venice Pavilion, inside the Giardini della Biennale. On display in Murano are some 30 works by artists who have collaborated with Studio Berengo, the creative glass furnace that has been characterized since 1989 as a space in which artists can collaborate freely, making use of the technical expertise of the island’s master glassmakers. GLASSTRESS is a project by Adriano Berengo dedicated to promoting connections between contemporary art and glass. Beginning with its debut in 2009 as a collateral event of the Venice Biennale, over the years GLASSTRESS has made dozens of internationally renowned artists and designers passionate about the traditional craft of Murano glassblowing, who have tried their hand at creating evocative and innovative works in glass with the support of Berengo Studio’s masters. GLASSTRESS exhibitions have been presented in major museums and institutions around the world, including the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, the London College of Fashion and The Wallace Collection in London, the Riga Bourse Art Museum in Riga, the Millesgården Museum in Stockholm, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York, and the Beirut Exhibition Center (BEC) in Beirut.

All are previously unpublished works, including those by: Monica Bonvicini (Venice, Italy, 1965. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany), Tony Cragg (Liverpool, Great Britain, 1949. Lives and works in Wuppertal, Germany), Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg (Lysekil, Sweden, 1978 and Rättvik, Sweden, 1978. They live and work in Sweden and the UK), Fariba Ferdosi (Tehran, Iran, 1976. Lives and works in Florence, Italy), Ryan Gander (Chester, Britain, 1976. Lives and works between Suffolk and London), Marya Kazoun (Beirut, Lebanon, 1976. Lives and works in Venice, Italy), Majida Khattari (Erfoud, Morocco, 1988. Lives and works in Paris), Chila Kumari Burman (Bootle, Britain, 1957. Lives and works in London), Alfredo Pirri (Cosenza, Italy, 1957. Lives and works in Rome), Laure Prouvost (Croix, France, 1978. Lives and works in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium), Arne Quinze (Belgium, 1971. Lives and works in Sint-Marens-Latem, Belgium), Ayako Rokkaku (Chiba, Japan, 1982. Lives and works in Berlin, Porto, and Amsterdam), Thomas Schütte (Oldenburg, Germany, 1954. Lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany).

“When we opened the first edition of GLASSTRESS in 2009, we did so with the desire to create a platform where the public could witness the enormous variety of contemporary artists working with glass and the unlimited potential that this medium holds,” says Adriano Berengo, president of Berengo Studio and Berengo Foundation, who continues, “Just as as we have grown over the years, GLASSTRESS has also grown, and I am delighted that this year the exhibition returns to Murano with this special edition to celebrate 35 years since I founded Berengo Studio in 1989.”

“That of glass is an enchanted world in which the most incredible suggestions can take shape. This is why great contemporary artists have decided to dedicate part of their production to this particular material. Adriano Berengo, with his dedication and the care of his master glassmakers, has offered them a unique support for the creation of their works, but also a place to experiment with techniques and effects.”, concludes Umberto Croppi, curator of the exhibition, who concludes, “It was decided to propose, with the eighth edition of GLASSTRESS, an exceptional parterre of artists and the possibility for visitors to see where it all began, the old glass workshop, to emphasize the close link between an ancient artisan tradition and an absolute contemporaneity of its use.”

Photo by Francesco Allegretto

Venice, the Berengo Foundation and Berengo Studio present the exhibition GLASSTRESS 8?

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