The Venetian lagoon, where the tradition of fishing with nets is still practiced, is a microcosm made up of lights and colours that define the landscape in various different environmental situations, most particularly, during the morning, in high summer, the depths of winter, engulfed in fog and at sunset.

Taking these conditions as inspiration, Marco Zito and BTM have designed a collection of large luminous objects that seem to emerge from the water. Looking to evoke the energy of a lagoon, the pieces are created out of intricately shaped hand-blown glass, whilst the unconventional use of fishing nets emphasise the play of light within the pieces.

The NASSE Collection is designed by Marco Zito in collaboration with BTM and produced by WonderGlass under the technical supervision of BTM. This collaboration will begin an ongoing partnership realised in an annual project during which the BTM space and workshop in Murano (Officina – BTM) will open to the public for selected events, hosting some of the most interesting WonderGlass products. The NASSE Collection on show during Venice Glass Week will be the first of these events.

Physalis, designed by Cristina Celestino is inspired by the delicate process harvesting fresh flowers for the purpose of drying. Celestino was particularly interested in the Physalis variety of flowering plants, of which stand out for their characteristic lantern shape - an ephemeral organic architecture consisting of a very light and impalpable envelope.

Physalis is blown by WonderGlass’ master glassmakers using Pulegoso glass on Murano. Like the flower with its characteristically desaturated palette, the pieces range from warmer pink tones to semi-transparent whites. The glass replica is a composed of a pale pink glass filtered by the texture of the bubbles enclosed in it. The glass externally is almost imperceptible, delicate and shiny, consisting of three fruits hanging sweetly on a branched metallic stem, lit up with impalpable light, as if to offer themselves to be collected.

Physalis by Cristina Celestino for WonderGlass will be presented at Light Blowing Festival – a celebration of the complexity of lighting within hand blown glass, as part of Venice Glass Week.

Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art Gallery will be displaying select pieces of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s Alcova collection during Venice Glass Week to complement their exhibition “Some Drawings by Ronan Bouroullec”.

Alcova consists of elements in coloured glass (crystal, light amber, green and amber) in simple flat or semi-circular forms that are arranged as a set, making the transparency and brightness of the various coloured elements interact; some small, modular cylindrical elements that fit within the larger pieces completes the work.