From MARCH 25 to JULY 28, 2019. The spring exhibition at LE STANZE DEL VETRO is dedicated to the great French artist who paved the way to much contemporary glassmaking, thanks to his experimentation with forms and techniques
Unique exhibition by Maurice Marinot at Le Stanze del Vetro on San Giorgio Maggiore island.
The exhibition features 220 works in glass on loan from prestigious museums, as well as many preparatory drawings, showing the extraordinary ground-breaking production of the glass artist, from the early enamel works to the hand-blown pieces that Marinot created and modeled in person thanks to his remarkable skills and creativity.
The exhibition Maurice Marinot. The Glass, 1911-1934, curated by Jean-Luc Olivié and Cristina Beltrami, is organized by LE STANZE DEL VETRO in collaboration with the Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris (MAD). The exhibition is the first international tribute celebrating Maurice Marinot (1882 - 1960), a great glass artist, who revolutionized glassmaking techniques and taste. Marinot was a tireless experimenter, whose glass inventions were emulated for decades. The exhibition will be open to the public on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore from 25 March to 28 July 2019.
The exhibition Maurice Marinot. The Glass, 1911-1934, will recount the fundamental role of Marinot in the history of modern and contemporary glass, yet to be thoroughly acknowledged by the public. After a period of training in Paris, Marinot often featured in the fauve movement at the beginning of his career. In 1911, almost by chance he discovered the medium of glass, which he used as a unique means of artistic expression.
Marinot first devoted himself to the enamel decoration of transparent glass made in a
in a friend’s glassware company in Bar-sur-Seine, in the Aube Department.
Already the very first attempts proved to be considerably novel, far from previous models, with decorative enameled motifs making use of any potential flaws in the glass material. In 1912 he participated in the Salon d’Automne in Paris and the following year he started to be exclusively diffused by the prestigious Hébrard Gallery (1913).
Over the years, his relationship with the medium of glass became more and more physical, almost a challenge. Marinot finally came fully to grips with glassmaking as of 1922-1923, when he started blowing unique pieces with refined nuances.
He moved from simple shapes, often with smooth surfaces and suspended bubbles in the body of the pieces, to bottles and vases with deep incisions or strong acid corrosion. Even when working with transparent glass, enhancing the fluidity of hot glass, a strong tactile sensuality remains. Finally he is the one who invented that new type of thick, heavy and, as he said, "fleshy" glass which inspired so many designers and glassmakers to come.
Featuring 220 unique pieces – mostly from international museums - the exhibition traces the artistic unfolding of an extraordinary yet introverted artist-craftman, who gave up his production in 1934, when the Bar-sur-Seine factory stopped to welcome him due to the economic situation.
Together with the glass works, the exhibition will showcase 115 drawings, sketches, designs for objects and set-ups, from various museums, such as the Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris (MAD) and the Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire in Brussels.
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