Venetian Glass: 20th Century Italian Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection [Hardcover]

Cristiano Bianchin (Author), Alfredo Barbini (Author), Marino Barovier (Author), Laura Diaz de Santillana (Author), David Revere McFadden (Author), Benjamin Moore (Author), Yoichi Ohira (Author), Susan Sacks (Author), Tobia Scarpa (Author), Thomas Stearns (Author), Lino Tagliapietra (Author), Toots Zynsky (Author), Luca Vignelli (Photographer), Ercole Barovier (Author), Fulvio Bianconi (Author), Muranese Vetrerie (Author), Carlo Scarpa (Author), Susanne Frantz (Contributor), Tapio Wirkkala (Contributor), Massimo Vignelli (Contributor), Suzanne K. Frantz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2000

Italian art glass of the 20th century represents a high point in the history of the medium. In this century, such legendary Muranese factories as Venini, Seguso and Barovier & Toso, among others, joined forces with major artists, architects, designers, and skilled glassworkers to renovate and expand the traditions of excellence that had been the hallmarks of Venetian glass for centuries. From experiments in new forms, colors, and techniques in the first decades of the century, through the golden years of Italian preeminence in the field at mid-century, to the influx of talented artists from other countries today, Venetian glasswork of the 20th century is a testament to creative spirit and artistic innovation. Presented at the American Craft Museum from fall 2000 through winter 2001, Venetian Glass: 20th Century Italian Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection is one of the first comprehensive overviews of 20th century Italian glass art in the United States, and the first in this country to present a heretofore unknown private collection of Italian glass masterworks. The extraordinary design by Massimo Vignelli coupled with the stunning photographs by Luca Vignelli give life and texture to each piece. Responding to the dearth of publications about 20th century Italian glass art available in the US, this accompanying catalogue--featuring over 200 works--is certain to occupy a significant place in the current revival of interest in glasswork as an art form.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Charta (November 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8881582961
• ISBN-13: 978-8881582969
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,491,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Italian splendor, November 1, 2009

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Venetian Glass: 20th Century Italian Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection (Hardcover)

I came across this book while browsing that wonderful Amazon feature: Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought. What a great buy but don't be put off by the 2000 publishing date because this is timeless art. Read the Product Details above to give you an idea about the contents but what it doesn't say is that this is an absolutely stunning book of Venetian glass (it would be nice to think that the design of this title might influence for the better American publishers of books for collectors, who turn out plenty of extremely dull looking titles every year but somehow I doubt it).

All the glass is from the Olnick+Spanu collection and they have acquired some remarkable art primarily from Italian artists but also Tapio Wirkkala (Finland) Yoichi Ohira (Japan) and some Americans: James Carpenter; Benjamin Moore; Thomas Stearns and Toots Zynsky. The Venini Company seems to have made most of the glass throughout the pages.

The book's square size, elegant typography, excellent printing (with a 175 screen) and paper make all this glass just jump from the page and it's a bit of a family effort too, because the book's designer was Massimo Vignelli (he designed the 1972 NYC subway map) with five pages devoted to his glass designs made by Venini and his son Luca took all the remarkable photos. The front of the book has various essays about Venetian glass and some Artist Statements, the back includes an excellent catalog of the featured glass, artist biographies, a workshop listing, glossary of terms (very useful as they are always referred to in Italian) and finally a bibliography, rather oddly arranged in publication year order rather than alphabetically by author.

If you like modern glass from Venice you'll be inspired by the color photos in these pages.

***LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Venetian Glass: 20th Century Italian Glass, February 24, 2008

By 

Ms. Joanne E. Ginever (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Venetian Glass: 20th Century Italian Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection (Hardcover)

This is a really beautiful book. The photos are absolutely stunning, and the book is filled with a vast number of wonderfully artistic glorious colour photos of beautiful glass object. For anyone who loves glass, particularly Venetian/ Murano/ Italian glass it is a must have. Very informative also. Highly recommend this exquisite book. I love to browse through it soaking in the beautiful images. Absolutely love it!
Jo Ginever, Perth Western Australia