“For hundreds of years, glass has been viewed by some as simply a decorative or functional medium, Glasstress ... shatters those notions.”
– Philippe de Montebello
Former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The first edition of Glasstress was held in 2009 as a collateral event of the Venice Biennale in Palazzo Franchetti on the banks of the Grand Canal, and was born from Berengo’s desire to showcase to the world the innovative creations contemporary artists were making with the material, both as a result of his first-hand experience with artists in Berengo Studio, and through his extensive experience within the world of contemporary art.
Glasstress was founded in 2009 by Adriano Berengo, a born and raised Venetian and the CEO of Berengo Studio, one of the world’s leading creative glass furnaces. It is an innovative exhibition that focuses on glass as a medium for contemporary art, and has become an internationally acclaimed group show that is known for gathering together the best contemporary art made with glass.
As a result of its success Glasstress has now been presented in prominent museums and institutions worldwide, including the Lativan National Museum of Art “Riga Bourse” in Riga, the Millesgården Museum in Stockholm, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York, the Beirut Exhibition Center (BEC) in Beirut, the London College of Fashion, the Wallace Collection in London, the Ptuj City Gallery in Slovenia and the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida. With each new edition Glasstress travels further afield, gaining new collaborators and creative partners along the way.
At present over 300 contemporary artists have featured in Glasstress and the exhibition has distinguished itself as one of the leading shows of contemporary art in glass in the world. For its tenth anniversary edition in 2019 the exhibition returned to the heart of Murano to the newly opened Fondazione Berengo Art Space on the island. A subsequent exhibition in 2022 was held at the same location.
GLASSTRESS 8½
the eighth edition of the biannual exhibition of works by contemporary artists and designers created in collaboration with the glass masters of Berengo Studio .
Fondazione Berengo and Berengo Studio present GLASSTRESS 8½, curated by Umberto Croppi at the Tesa 99 in the Arsenale Nord in Venice and at the Fondazione Berengo Art Space in Murano.
"When we opened the first edition of GLASSTRESS in 2009, we did so with the desire to create a platform where the public could witness the enormous variety of contemporary artists working with glass and the unlimited potential that this medium holds," says Adriano Berengo, President of Berengo Studio and Fondazione Berengo, who continues: "As we have grown over the years, GLASSTRESS has also grown and I am delighted that the exhibition returns to Murano this year with this special edition to celebrate 35 years since I founded Berengo Studio in 1989."
Coinciding with the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice, GLASSTRESS returns to its original location, an old furnace on the island of Murano which was transformed into an exhibition space in 2009, together with a special project at the Tesa 99 in the Arsenale Nord.
The title of the exhibition is a homage to Fellini, and his masterpiece of the same name, a film which hinges on the theme of artistic creation. Yet it is also a means of emphasising that this is the eighth edition of GLASSTRESS at the Fondazione Berengo Art Space in Murano, which will be a special "expanded" edition, with the 1/2 indicating two large never before seen installations that will be exhibited in the Tesa 99 in the Arsenale Nord.
Here the public will find a monumental work by the Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen which complements his installation in front of the Venice Pavilion inside the Giardini of the Biennale, and an installation by the Austrian artist Sabine Wiedenhofer.