Robert Wilson in Glass

Curated by Jean Blanchaert and Noah Khoshbin

Following the success of its debut during The Venice Glass Week, Fondazione Berengo is proud and delighted to extend Robert Wilson in Glass until November 26, in the context of Glasstress 2017. This unique exhibition of glass artworks by the renowned stage director, designer and visual artist, is curated by Jean Blanchaert and Noah Khoshbin.

For the first time in Italy, Wilson’s glass artworks arrive in Venice, overlooking Murano, the Island of Glass that inspired these pieces. In fact, it was his encounter with the glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra that sparked Wilson’s passion for glass. At the beginning of the 90s, Tagliapietra was often in Marseille, at CIRVA (Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre et les Arts Plastiques), and that was where Wilson started producing glass. On display as a collateral project of Glasstress 2017, Robert Wilson in Glass at the Fondazione Berengo includes a selection of his works, created from 1994 to 2003 at CIRVA.

Bowls, cylinders and domes, as well as inverted pyramids, lustrous and translucent, as well as dark and opaque, Wilson describes his experience with glass as a constant contradiction. Wilson says “I like ceramics but I much prefer glass because of its heaviness and lightness.” His glass pieces are the result of a subtle alliance of these contrasts.

From the theatrical stage to video projects, in every aspect of Robert Wilson’s oeuvre we can see a dreamlike environment of great visual and emotional impact derived from a very specific field: geometry. Glass is no exception. Curved lines express specific moments from Wilson’s life, made even more recognizable by the colours used. “They have memory,” says Wilson. The morning fog and condensation captured in the satin surfaces, the reflection of water, highlighted by flashes of metal, now occupy the beautiful spaces of Palazzo Franchetti, the stunning palace on the Grand Canal that is the official home of Fondazione Berengo and Glasstress 2017.

Entrance to Robert Wilson in Glass is included with the Glasstress 2017 ticket.

Fondazione Berengo
Fondazione Berengo was founded by Adriano Berengo in 2014 as a cultural institution to consolidate and strengthen his mission of marrying the Muranese glass-making tradition with contemporary art by collaborating with internationally acclaimed artists, designers, and architects.

Adriano Berengo is also the mind and the heart behind the glass factory Berengo Studio 1989 and Glasstress, the exhibition that, since 2009, elevates glass to an unprecedented level by displaying glass artworks by the most important contemporary artists at Palazzo Franchetti. In its fifth edition, Glasstress 2017, open until November 26th, brings together 38 leading contemporary artists in an ambitious exhibition that explores the endless creative possibilities of glass. It presents an impressive line-up of artists including Ai Weiwei, Tony Cragg, Jan Fabre, Abdulnasser Gharem, Loris Gréaud, Vik Muniz, Thomas Schütte and Sarah Sze. With little or no prior experience working with glass, these artists have embraced the challenge of creating extraordinary works to defy the stereotypes of this ancient craft, ultimately pushing the boundaries of both contemporary art and glass.

About Robert Wilson (b. 1941, Waco, Texas)
Stage director, designer and visual artist, Wilson has been acclaimed as “the world’s foremost avant-garde ‘theater artist.’” With a career spanning almost five decades, he is known internationally for pushing the boundaries of every discipline he works in, which includes choreography, painting, sculpture, video art and sound design. He has collaborated with artists, writers, musicians and performers like Philip Glass, Marina Abramović, Willem Dafoe and Lady Gaga. Wilson has directed and designed for the world’s leading opera houses and his visual works can be found in the permanent collections of the most prominent international institutions.

Press enquiries
Claudio Pavesi
T +39 041 739 453 / comunicazione [​at​] berengo.com