LONDON.- Sebastian + Barquet London will present an exhibition of works by iconic Italian glass manufacturer Venini, opening this July. The exhibition will present twenty works created between the 1930s and the 1970s, the result of the company’s successful collaborations with seminal modernist designers including Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa.

Works on display at Sebastian + Barquet London will include a rare pale green blown crystal ‘shell’ by Carlo Scarpa. The show will illustrate the range of techniques, many considered revolutionary at the time, synonymous with Venini, such as Corroso and Battuto. The former, meaning ‘corrosive’, in which a finished glass piece is etched by dipping it in hydrofluoric acid, while the latter, meaning ‘beaten’, describes how the glass is rhythmically hammered. This exhibition will illustrate how Venini embraced modernist trends expressed in both art and architecture and how he effectively transferred them to glass production, propelling the industry into the twentieth century.

Arguably the most highly regarded maker of fine Italian glass, Cappellin Venini & Co, was established in 1925 by Paolo Venini. Over the years, collaborations with pioneering designers including Tapio Wirkkala and Thomas Stearns helped to develop and shape Venini’s unmistakable style. It was Venini’s partnership with architect Carlo Scarpa in the forties that brought the manufacturer worldwide acclaim. Scarpa influenced twentieth century glass by introducing and refining new techniques and modernist designs. Scarpa was succeeded by Fulvio Bianconi, who during his time with Venini in the forties and sixties conceived Venini’s most popular design, the Pezzati series, still in production today.