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Teresa Scarale

The Glass Week 2021 offered an opportunity to speak with one of the protagonists of the Venetian event, Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga, a glass master by passion and talent

Venice, September 2021, National Archaeological Museum. This writer's attention is caught by a group of colorful Augustan busts in glass. The room is that of the twelve Caesars: amid the whiteness of the classical effigies of the Roman emperors (either contemporary pieces or later copies), the fivefold, colorful Augustus stands out — without discord.

In its pop, millennial guise, it engages in dialogue with a distant past that is nonetheless clearly still alive. Augustus is an archetype, one that outlives men: he can be rendered in any material. Even glass. The creator of those busts is Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga. The exhibition is "Ottaviano Augusto a confronto con l'antico" ("Octavian Augustus in Dialogue with Antiquity"), curated by Cristina Beltrami. "I adore my busts. I made one again today, and thankfully it turned out well," he reveals. "Difficulty is always lurking just around the corner in glasswork. The pieces are complicated to finish — they can come out of the process broken, chipped."

Giberto's presence at the Archaeological Museum is tied to that event blending craftsmanship, collecting and glamour known as The Venice Glass Week. Now in its fifth edition, the international festival dedicated to the art of glass is a widespread exhibition project, gathering together initiatives linked to the ancient Murano tradition. "Events like Glass Week are vital. The more people talk about glass, the better," Arrivabene notes. "Murano glass is a living, warm material."

The very same tiny bubbles — a byproduct of the handcrafted process — may go unappreciated by a less experienced customer, but "they convey the sense of richness, of craftsmanship, of the humanism found in these works. Worked glass is a humanistic material. It takes twelve years to become a master of Murano glass. As far as I'm concerned, the most beautiful craft of all."

And how did he get into it? "In theory, I'm supposed to be an insurance broker. But over the course of my life I've worked in various fields, from advertising to shipping. My passion for glass took shape about twenty years ago, helped along by the fact that I live in Venice. That's how I started spending time in the workshops of Murano. At first, acquaintances would ask me to repair the antique glassware they had at home. And looking at the old, elaborate collections of glasses and carafes found in Venetian houses, I felt the urge to recreate them — but with a contemporary touch."

That's how Giberto Arrivabene's adventure in glass began — rooted both in heritage (the brand's name, unmistakably, is "Giberto Venezia") and in sensibility. From a business standpoint, "making money with handcrafted glass isn't straightforward. Production costs are extremely high, and the recent rise in gas prices doesn't help. The pieces are made by hand, one at a time — they aren't standardized, so the final price is necessarily high. That's also why 80–90% of my clients are international. And 70% come through word of mouth." A word of mouth that, over the years, has brought no shortage of satisfaction.

In 2016 came the collaboration with Dior: Giberto Venezia designed a collection of objects with a 1920s-30s flavor for the Maison line, sold at the New Bond Street boutique in London. He was the only Italian designer selected — quite a recognition, accompanied by significant publicity and visibility. "But I never actually studied design! I'm an amateur," Giberto Arrivabene demurs, as if talent were something one could simply learn. "I make my preparatory sketches in charcoal, with watercolors. I've always loved drawing." What inspires him most? "I let myself be inspired by everything. Places, feelings, works of art, memories."

Memories that evidently resurface in much the same way in the minds of collectors seeking out unique glass pieces, even at auction. The historic auction house Bonhams (London, 1793) knows this well — its 20th-century decorative arts and design department in New York established, for Venice Glass Week, the prestigious Bonhams Prize for The Venice Glass Week.