Benjamin Moore 1952–

Benjamin Moore was born in Olympia, Washington. From 1970 to 1972, he attended Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. He spent 1972 at the Instituto de Artes Plasticas in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in 1974, he obtained a B.F.A. with a major in Ceramics from the California College of the Arts in Oakland. In 1977, he received an M.F.A. with a major in Glass-Sculpture from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and began working as a designer for the Fostoria Glass Company in Moundsville, West Virginia. From 1978 to May of 1980, he worked at Venini in Murano, where his first assignment was to help the team of maestro Checco Ongaro by performing various tasks. In the spring of 1979, Ongaro offered to execute some of Moore’s designs. The result so impressed Ludovico Diaz de Santillana that Moore was asked to continue the collaboration with Venini as a designer until 1980. After several teaching positions that took him from the Niijima Glass Art Center in Japan to the Haystack Mountain School of Design to the Rhode Island School of Design, he presently serves as a Board Member at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. In addition, Mr. Moore owns and operates the Artist’s Glass Studio Benjamin Moore, Inc. in Seattle, Washington.

Photograph by Luca Vignelli
Tessuto ad incalmo
Venini & C., 1979

Benjamin Moore Tessuto ad incalmoVenini & C., 1979

Vase in tessuto glass. The upper portion is composed of a spiraling pink, green, and black canes of glass, the lower portion is made of black glass. The two portions are bonded with the incalmo technique.

Engraved: Benjamin Moore Venini.
10 7/16 in. high (26.5 cm)
Exhibitions:
2000, New York, Venetian Glass, Museum of Arts & Design;
2001, Milan, Murano: Vetri dalla Collezione Olnick Spanu, Spazio Oberdan.

Bibliography and comparative texts:
A. Venini Diaz de Santillana, 1989, n. 249;
M. Barovier, 1999, p. 289;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 146;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 184;
A. Dorigato, 2002, p. 349.

Venini & C.  1932–2001

In 1932, when both Martinuzzi and Zecchin left the company, Paolo Venini changed the name from Vetri Soffiati Muranesi Venini & Co. (V.S.M. Venini & Co.) to Venini & C.. Milanese architect Tommaso Buzzi became the new artistic director.

After 1934, artistic direction was taken on by Carlo Scarpa, who designed most of the company's production through 1947. Side by side with Venini, who often intervened personally in design, Scarpa created numerous collections of objects characterized by refined colors. After World War II, Venini & C. sought numerous collaborations with artists such as architect Giò Ponti and the Swedish-born Tyra Lundgren. After 1948, Fulvio Bianconi, Massimo Vignelli, and Tobia Scarpa contributed significantly to the new direction of the company.

Paolo Venini died in 1959 and his son-in-law, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, took over the management of Venini & C. He not only worked personally as a glass designer but also continued the collaboration started by Paolo Venini with various artists and designers. Starting in 1960, many other designers collaborated with the company, like Thomas Stearns, Toni Zuccheri, Tapio Wirkkala, Laura and Alessandro Diaz de Santillana, James Carpenter, Dan Dailey, Richard Marquis, Benjamin Moore, and Toots Zynsky. In 1986, the de Santillana family left the company, selling their stock to the Ferruzzi group, which guaranteed the fine quality Venini was known for by hiring new designers such as Timo Sarpaneva, Marco Zanini, Ettore Sottsass Jr., Alessandro Mendini, Mario Bellini, Barbara del Vicario, and others.

In 1988, Venini was acquired by Royal Scandinavian. Since 2001, Venini S.p.A. has been part of Italian Luxury Industries Group and is led by Giancarlo Chimento, Giuliano Tabacchi, and Giorgio Rizzo.

Tessuto ad incalmo
Venini & C., 1979