Architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte Revives Murano Glass in Venice Exhibition

At the Fondazione Wilmotte in Venice, architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte has curated an exhibition titled "Aqua e fogo. L’eau et le feu" that showcases Murano glass objects designed by himself. The show, held in the Cannaregio district, features glassworks produced in collaboration with the active Murano furnace Cenedese. Wilmotte's designs evoke childhood memories of alambicchi from his father's laboratory, rendered in blue and transparent glass. The exhibition also includes fourteen black-and-white photographs by Luigi "Gigi" Ferrigno, taken in the 1950s and 1960s in Murano glass factories, capturing glassblowing techniques and the optimism of Italy's economic boom. The Fondazione Wilmotte, established in a former shipyard turned carpentry workshop and vocational school, now shares the area with foundations of Anish Kapoor and Nicolas Berggruen. The exhibition aims to highlight the contemporary relevance of Murano glassmaking, which has been threatened by economic crisis and the pandemic, and to support Venice's artisan traditions against overtourism and depopulation.