Mario was born in Murano in 1926, and like most children in this Glass World Capital, he worked at the furnace at an early age. By the age of 24 he became a Glass Maestro.

From the onset, his interest in art was not limited to Glass. He attended courses of design and painting, and one of his teachers was the painter Vittorio Zecchin. He was honored for his paintings and sculptures, and in 1955 he obtained the Burano Prize. In 1974 he started a collaboration with Egidio Costantini, in the furnace Fucina degli Angeli where different art media were “translated” into glass forms.

When he retired in 1989, Mario revived one of his old passions, the Murrini. Initially he experimented with simple subjects, that got more and more complex. Now, 14 years later, he has created 70 Murrini, many of them are extraordinary.

Paintings are the main subject of Mario’s Murrini. Of the 26 pieces featured in this Exhibit, 18 are “translations” of Paintings by the Masters. Steven’s Parisienne Japonaise is his latest and largest Murrina. His next largest is Giorgione’s Tempest.

                             Many glass artists, contemporary and from
                             the past centuries have worked with Murrini.
  however, none has achieved Mario’s
  excellence in realism. When one meets
  persons like Mario, the impression is a
  combination of owe and fear. The fear is a
  human fact about finality. What is going to
   happen to this unique art form after
   Mario?  The fear is alleviated when one
   sees the Murrini of his son Antonio.

Few fathers are lucky enough to have a child perpetuate their passions. The art world itself is lucky to have Antonio continuing Mario’s tradition and carrying it to another level.

Born in 1964, Antonio graduated from the Institute of Art in Venice. He is an accomplished teacher, designer and artist. In addition to Graphic Design, he designs Cloth and Jewelry and explores a wide range of art forms including glass. An article in VETRO magazine (June 2001) featured his glass clothing designs.

Since the late 1990’s Murrini have been Antonio’s focus. The good relation with his father facilitated the learning process. Each does the Cold Work on their own, and the Hot Work, is a joint endeavor (read our Visit to the Dei Rossis). Fauna is the predominant subject of his Murrini. Antonio created to date 28 Murrini. Of the 18 featured in this Exhibit, 15 represent animals

The Peacock theme has recurred in his most recent Murrini. He did separately the Head and the Feather, then incorporated them in two masterpieces, the Full Peacock and the brand new Peacock Tapestry, featured on the cover of the Dei Rossi 2003 Catalogue. In the Peacock Tapestry I  he “weaved” a Peacock Head, 16 Feathers in a beautiful background of aventurine glass.

We love these Murrini, but we are at a loss as to how to display them. The Plexiglas cylinders are good display stands. Antonio, however, has a much better idea. He created very interesting Jewelry as settings for the Murrini. An art form that incorporates and highlights another art form. Mostly Glass will have the first exhibit of Antonio’s Jewelry at SOFA Chicago, October 2003.