La Biennale di Venezia, exh. cat., Venice, 1958, fig. 198
Catalogue Essay
Forma astratta
In the 1958 Venice Biennale, the Decorative Arts Pavilion was dedicated to Venetian glass, with an emphasis on lighting. For the pavilion, Seguso Vetri d’Arte exhibited the present ceiling light designed by the firm’s artistic director Flavio Poli. The work represented an extraordinary example of the expressive possibilities of the art of glassmaking, featuring innovative technical and formal lighting solutions. The technique used consisted of a reticular metal structure, on which polychrome blown glass flower-shaped elements were attached. Previously, this technique had only been applied to flat, backlit lighting designs, such as the large ceiling lights designed by Poli for the Hotel Bristol, Merano in 1954. For the first time, on the occasion of the XXIX Venice Biennale, Poli conceived this large three-dimensional, drop-shaped ceiling light, which revealed a diagonal opening that appears to cut through the light’s structure, emphasised by the use of contrasting coloured glass. The ceiling light was a great success with both critics and the public, and was one of the few examples of lighting illustrated in the exhibition catalogue with the title ‘Forma astratta’ (Abstract form). Following the exhibition, the ceiling light was exhibited at Seguso Vetri d’Arte, where it remained displayed in the entrance of the showroom until its closure.
circa 1958 Coloured glass with gold leaf inclusions, painted steel. 140 cm (55 1/8 in.) drop, 60 cm (23 5/8 in.) diameter Produced by Seguso Vetri d'Arte, Murano, Italy.