Fulvio Bianconi Signed Venini, Italia, Coral Red Glass Egg Paperweight, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Fulvio Bianconi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 3 in (7.62 cm)Diameter: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Rothley, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5055116499082
Fulvio Bianconi
For a range of work that includes everything from illustrating thousands of books and other publications to his role as a visionary glassmaker, Fulvio Bianconi is remembered as one of the most innovative cross-disciplinarian artists of the postwar era.
Born in Ponte di Brenta in 1915, Bianconi showed a prodigious talent for drawing at an early age and, as a teenager, earned money as a portraitist. He also worked as an apprentice decorator in his youth at the Murano glass furnaces, where he first discovered the art of glassmaking.
In 1933, he moved to Milan to pursue a career as a graphic artist, and it was there he met Dino Villani, a painter who had ties to some of Milan’s most prestigious publishing houses and advertising firms. However, at the onset of World War II, Bianconi paused his graphic design ambitions and joined the army. In 1944, he narrowly escaped the infamous Via Rasella Nazi raids in German-occupied Rome.
Following the war, Bianconi went to work designing perfume bottles for the Milan perfume house Giviemme at Venini glassworks, where he worked with glass masters Ermete and Arturo Biassuto. Bianconi became one of Venini’s most influential glass designers — and was appointed artistic director following Carlo Scarpa — known for his bold use of color, modern style and unique, playful designs.
Among Bianconi's most iconic works in glass are the series of glass figures from the Commedia dell’Arte, his remarkably fluid bowls, and the patchwork “Pezzato” technique — his colorful vases created with this technique feature patterns that resemble those of a patchwork quilt. Works made in this fashion caused a sensation at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950.
Venini co-founder Paolo Venini’s best designs are thought to be his two-color Clessidre hourglasses, produced from 1957 onward, and the Fazzoletto (“handkerchief”) vase, designed with Bianconi in 1949.
Bianconi worked with several other glass studios, including Cenedese in 1954 and Vistosi in 1963, creating decorative vessels, bowls, hourglasses and sculptures. He was also a graphic designer with the Italian publishing house Garzanti for nearly 30 years. Bianconi’s portfolio of graphic design included work for FIAT, Pathé and Pirelli, among others.
Bianconi’s glassworks are held in museum collections worldwide, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The artist died in 1996.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Fulvio Bianconi decorative objects, glassware and lighting.
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass, Sommerso, Blown Glass
Vintage 1960s Italian Sculptures
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Vintage 1950s Italian Vases
Murano Glass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Glass
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Glass
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Vases
Art Glass
Vintage 1940s Italian Vases
Murano Glass
More From This Seller
View AllMid-20th Century Italian Animal Sculptures
Glass
Early 2000s English High Victorian Paperweights
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Scottish Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Pewter
Early 2000s English High Victorian Paperweights
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Glass
Early 20th Century Danish Art Deco Paperweights
Metal
