Bold and sophisticated as the framework that shaped it. The Black Belt collection of vases stems from the meeting between Peter Marino and Venini, a harmonious blend that draws inspiration from past and present, tradition and design.
The most ancient among glass crafting techniques give shape to a line of limited edition vases: 349 pieces different in color and size.
Clean geometric lines trace four shapes – oval, square, triangle, and an eight – harnessed by black glass bands, graphic signature of Peter Marino, applied to the surface of the pieces and integrated into the form thanks to the heat in the third and last stage of a glass blowing technique that follows the ‘a sbruffo’ (puffed) technique and the ‘sommerso’ (submerged) technique. The result creates a strong visual contrast between the transparency of the glass with its delicate shades of color – in the nuances of pink, chartreuse and amber – and the pronounced black strips that emerge from it.
“The strength of light and materials is fundamental to all my architectural projects,” says Peter Marino. “The Black Belt collection draws from these considerations. The craftsmanship on the creation of glass, a distinctive feature of Venini, dates back to the 13th century. Even nowadays, this production process allows designers to create completely modern concepts such as these particular works of art.”
The presentation of the collection at the Venini showroom in Milan, in via Montenapoleone, was juxtaposed to the launch of Ando Cosmos, the new piece by Japanese architect Tadao Ando for Venini. Unveiled in Tokyo within the exhibition space of the Ginza Six Mall, Ando Cosmos embodies the “Order of Space”, a theme that the designer represents “through the simple geometry of a sphere drawn subtracted from the center of a cube. Perpendicular divisions of the combined volume result in four separate parts. This project is takes the form of a group of three elements. To complete the order of the “COSMOS”, the viewer must imagine the intentionally missing piece of the composition.”
Proposed in a limited edition of 19 examples for the Crystal color version, “Ando Cosmos” is also available in three other variants that combine the transparency of the glass with colored reflections, each presented in a limited edition of 30 pieces. Each is like a story told through a sophisticated chromatic approach: “Acquamare”/Grapes/Green Mint, Tea/Red/Mole brown, Straw/Grass Green/Rosé.
