Murano Sottovuoto: LU Murano art illuminates Caffè Florian in Venice

On the occasion of the third edition of The Venice Glass Week, international festival celebrating glass art promoted by Venice Municipality and the main Venetian cultural institutions, the historic Caffè Florian in Piazza San Marco hosted a remarkable light installation by Master glassmaker and designer Fabio Fornasier. The exhibition "Murano Sottovuoto al Florian", curated by Art Director Stefano Stipitivich, transformed the elegant spaces of Sala delle Stagioni into a stage for contemporary glass art.
For years Caffè Florian has promoted contemporary artistic languages, dedicating its historic halls to masters whose creative research confronts the ancestral material represented by glass art, alchemical fusion of sand and fire.

Tradition and innovation under LU Murano

The installation, visible from 7th September to 15th October 2019, perfectly represented LU Murano's philosophy: uniting Murano's centuries-old glass tradition with a contemporary approach to lighting design. Maestro Fornasier, internationally recognised for his avant-garde creations, designed a work in chandelier form transcending simple functionality to become true light sculpture.

Alchemical vision behind Murano Sottovuoto

Always fascinated by Murano furnaces' alchemy, Fornasier transforms creative thoughts into impalpable matter through sinuous lines and extremely fragile touches. The idea of "Murano Sottovuoto" arose, according to the artist himself, from regret at seeing Murano goblets entirely handcrafted, with remarkable executive complexity, sold off for a few dozen euros.
To restore proper value to these masterpieces, Fornasier decontextualised the goblets from their original function, subjecting them to a second "firing" until rendering them thin and lifeless, then vacuum-sealing their forms and even the tiny imperfections making each piece unique.

Love manifesto for glass art

The chandelier thus becomes homage to centuries-old tradition, revealing refined craftsmanship from unprecedented and "flattened" perspective – metaphor for Murano itself and glass art, oppressed by myriad problems and systemic fragility. Through vacuum-sealing, Fabio Fornasier preserves glass art indefinitely, transforming his work into total love declaration.

Timeless light sculptures

Images show the installation's extraordinary complexity: coloured Murano glass goblets, enclosed in transparent vacuum containers, create fascinating dialogue between Florian's historic interiors and contemporary craftsmanship. The suspended structure reveals technical mastery distinguishing LU Murano creations, where each element is crafted following traditional methods yet with decidedly innovative vision.
The result is contemporary design rooted in artisan knowledge, positioning LU Murano as ambassador of Venetian glass culture in the most prestigious international contexts.