LU(ni-in)verso Palazzo Franchetti 2008: glass art optical fibres

Venice, 20 December 2008 - In Canal Grande waters, from Palazzo Franchetti garden, LU Murano presents LU(ni-in)verso, work by master glassmaker Fabio Fornasier. For five months, from 20 December 2008 to 24 May 2009, this work dialogues with one of world's most iconic panoramas.
2008 marks important moment for LU Murano creative universe. Whilst first versions of LU chandeliers were characterised by oil-fed transparencies, and subsequent ones by iridescent colours and metallic reflections, LU(ni-in)verso introduces optical fibre lighting.

LU(ni-in)verso Palazzo Franchetti 2008-2009: personal exhibition glass optical fibres

Personal exhibition at Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti takes place at Palazzo Franchetti, venue combining cultural tradition and contemporary research. Garden on Canal Grande offers extraordinary setting for installation.
Work remains exhibited for five months, from 20 December 2008 to 24 May 2009, allowing visitors and scholars to observe how Murano glass can evolve through new technologies integration.
Choice of Palazzo Franchetti as first location highlights exhibition importance in Venetian context. Subsequently, work is transferred to Basilica di Santa Maria e Donato in Murano, where Byzantine architecture and 12th century mosaics create confrontation between ancient sacred art and contemporary creation.

Optical fibres innovation Murano blown glass contemporary art

Introduction of optical fibre lighting in blown glass constitutes main innovation of LU(ni-in)verso. As Maestro Fornasier explains: "LU(ni-in)verso frees itself from its furnishing work function and becomes Murano conceptual art".
For contemporary art scholars, LU(ni-in)verso offers example of how traditional medium like Murano glass can become vehicle for contemporary expression. Each evolutionary phase of LU project - from transparencies to iridescences, from optical fibres to concept - highlights constant research not settling for solutions already found.
Optical fibres technology allows light effects impossible with traditional techniques. Venetian craftsmanship meets technological innovation, creating unprecedented expressive possibilities for artistic glass.

Palazzo Franchetti Canal Grande Basilica Santa Maria Donato Murano

Exhibition crosses two emblematic locations. Palazzo Franchetti on Canal Grande offers international visibility to work, whilst Basilica di Santa Maria e Donato in Murano allows dialogue with sacred art and island's glassmaking tradition.
In both contexts, work does not compete with existing, but accompanies it through contemporary luminous language. Historic architecture and innovative glass coexist in Venetian spaces.
For collectors and design enthusiasts, this work marks reference point for understanding how Italian craftsmanship can innovate whilst remaining faithful to own historic roots. Exhibition at Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti offers opportunity to observe Venetian glass art evolution.
Experience of LU(ni-in)verso between Palazzo Franchetti and Basilica di Murano establishes new parameters for contemporary applied art. When traditional craftsmanship meets technological research, works are born maintaining strong territorial identity whilst speaking current language.
From Canal Grande to Basilica di Murano, LU(ni-in)verso has traced creative possibilities map continuing to inspire artists and designers. Maestro Fabio Fornasier's creativity finds in optical fibres technology means to expand Murano glass expressive possibilities.