“Glass is almost a magical material [..] it reflects the light, it can be modified and it modifies what surrounds it.” The profound interest for glass shown by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte can be appreciated in this exhibition. The extraordinary collaboration between Wilmotte and the Murano island vibrant glass scene, going from design to final products and glass lighting, becomes evident in the Gallery’s rooms. Each object came alive thanks to a creative process, which was cultivated by Jean-Michel Wilmotte since his childhood, sitting next to his father in the back of the family owned pharmacy. “For hours I would watch amused my father’s test tubes and ampoules of different shapes and types of glass.”
Walking around the original set up of the exhibition these “personal” objects can be found next to Luigi Gigi Ferrigno’s photographs, who was known for his consistent attention towards glass. Fourteen black and white photographies, taken at glass furnaces in Murano during the 50s and 60s, document the working and living condition of men, women and children involved in glass production.
The selection of photos document the techniques that were used, such as glassblowing and the cutting of glass paste. They also portray a world inhabited by furnaces and never dying fires, a world marked by great intensity and profound silence, both surrounding the workers. The photographer captured gestures among reality and vision, testimony and symbol.
