The exhibition – in the two venues of Venice and Trieste – will present the objects designed by sixteen artists selected by an international jury presided by Gillo Dorfles.
Eight projects were chosen among those submitted for the competition, while the remaining eight have been created especially for the occasion by outstanding Italian designers at the invitation of the commission. Amongst the objects selected by the jury, mention must be made of the coffee set made of transparent glass and murrina by the Italo-Swiss group led by Francesco Gamba, first prize ex-aequo with “Roundelay”, a set of vessels by Tiina Sarapu (Estonia). Also inspired by regional traditions is the re-interpretation by the Serb Simic Vukasin of the traditional rakija glass. Amongst the most unusual objects, a cutting board for polenta (Lorenzo Bonini – Italy) and a set of dessert plates and bowls (Annika Giestbert – Germany). The BEBA Foundation prize for the youngest designer has been awarded to Elisa Rescaldani, a student of the Academy of Brera, who submitted a project for a set of original coloured plates, while the prize for the best designer from Trieste goes to the oil-vinegar-salt-pepper set by Lorena Matic. The guest section includes some of the most prestigious Italian designers, Piero Lissoni, Marta Laudani, Paolo Rizzatto and Paolo Ulian (invited by Marco Romanelli), glass artists, Oichi Ohira and Pietro Lunetta (invited by Attilia Dorigato), and artists tout court, Maurizio Pellegrin and Alfredo Pirri (invited by Franco Jesurun). All the artists were able to follow closely the execution of the objects by masters Andrea Zilio and Giacomo Barbini at the Anfora furnace in Murano.