The research for new, up-and-coming artists that chose glass as the ideal avenue to express their art is what keeps Murano solidly in the modern art circuit, thanks to Adriano Berengo, his Foundation, and his glass furnace. In late January, exhibition Shattering Beauty, curated by Sandrine Welte and Chiara Squarcina and produced in cooperation with Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and Berengo Studio, will open at the Murano Glass Museum. Swiss artist Simon Berger (b. 1976) created the art live, during the opening days, surrounded by his glass cube and the surprise of invitees. In that moment, all we took for granted about glass art shattered before our eyes. Berger pushed glass to its limits – its breaking limits. The rhythm of his mallet shattering glass sheets turned it into the depiction of a human face. To see the artist shape his creation in successive hammer strokes is devastating: destruction becomes an act of extreme beauty. Berger’s approach to glass finds the greatest strength in fragility. In his hands, the mallet is no longer a tool of destruction as much as it is an amplifier of a given effect. The closer and shorter the blows, the stronger the contrast and gradients. The artist draws spiderweb-like traces that trap and guide light. His transparent canvas will be called home by fascinating glass portraits. Simon Berger’s portraits/sculptures create a one-of-a-kind art installation.