Ode to Fontana - Manzoni - Burri

In 2017, Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga revisited the work of Lucio Fontana, particularly the artist’s iconic Spatial Concepts, which seek to move beyond the limits of physical space. During a trip to Buenos Aires, where Fontana wrote the Manifiesto Blanco and began the theory of Spatialism, Giberto developed a renewed understanding of this groundbreaking vision.

Back in Venice, he explored how Fontana’s symbolic “slashes” could be reinterpreted in Murano glass. In 2019, in collaboration with Master glassblower Gianni Seguso, he created Homage to Fontana: a handblown vase featuring one or more engraved cuts revealing vibrant inner glass color.

This project led Giberto to further reinterpret works by Piero Manzoni and Alberto Burri, two major figures of 20th-century Italian art. Seguso once again shaped the vision into glass.Homage to Manzoni takes inspiration from Manzoni’s Achrome series, using heat-sealed white glass filaments to create a tactile, sculptural surface.
Homage to Burri draws on Burri’s Combustioni, using black glass coated in deep red powdered glass and finished with crystal overlays that create layered, flame-like chromatic depth.Together, the three vases reflect Giberto’s ongoing research: translating modern art masterpieces into contemporary Murano glass, while honoring Venice’s heritage and demonstrating the living, evolving nature of its craftsmanship.