“In 1916, to escape the atrocious folly of the War, a group of six young men had themselves admitted to Villa Seminario military hospital in Ferrara,” explains Fabio Novembre. “Their names were: Giorgio de Chirico, Carlo Carrà, Alberto Savinio and Filippo de Pisis. Their rejection of reality led them to construct an alternative reality that they called metaphysics, a world made up of muses and enigmas, angst and enchantment.”
Dedicated to these young artists and the artistic current that contributed to the definition of the early 20th century avant-gardes is the work Muse, created in the VENINI furnaces from the intense collaboration between the Designer Novembre and the master craftsmen of the time-honoured Murano glassworks.
“Muse is my tribute to those boys,” comments Novembre. Muse is a collection of luminous sculptures that revisits the metaphysical poetic: as for de Chirico, also for Novembre the tailor’s mannequin, cold, stiff, devoid of emotions, takes the place of a seemingly inexpressive human being. However, with the poses it assumes and the role it plays in the space, the mannequin still manages to convey those moods of angst and loneliness, also in function of the colour that characterises it. The artistic object that results is enigmatic, silent and extraordinarily evocative.
Novembre has a unique way of creating architecture, installations and objects with a recognisable, but always surprising style. This approach makes the experience of working together with the designer particularly meaningful and fascinating.
Muse took shape outside of time and space, in a continual oscillation between classical perfection and the uncertainties of the present, just as occurred with the metaphysical artists. The VENINI glassworks master craftsmen blow the opaline glass inside a cage-like metallic structure, as in the tradition of the Venetian lantern – the skilfully controlled energy is impressed into the raw material and alternates with the precision of the manual processes, demonstrating the elasticity of the glass, despite the presence of a rigid mould.
Muse reveals the extraordinary capacity of the VENINI furnaces to preserve and promote a heritage that is unique in the world: the manufacture of fine glass. The master craftsmen are the custodians of an antique know-how, precious and unique – a secret that within the walls of the furnace translates into extraordinary works, thanks to the magic encounter between fire and water, art and craftsmanship, the antique and the contemporary.
Presented in three colour variants – grass green, milk white and red, in honour of the excellence of Italian products – the Muse collection comes in a limited edition of only nine pieces per colour. The base of the head in white Carrara marble offers another reference to the classical artistic experience, which the metaphysical artists drew on abundantly. The intrinsic beauty of the objects and the materials they are made of is captured in the moment of absolute harmony and understanding between the designer and the master glassmaker, at that extraordinary moment when the glass crystallises and becomes a work of art.