Laura Diaz de Santillana 1955–

Born in Venice, Laura Diaz de Santillana attended the School of Visual Arts in New York. After working as a graphic designer at the design firm of Vignelli Associates in 1976, she returned to Italy and began an active collaboration with Vetreria Venini & C., founded by her grandfather, Paolo Venini. At the workshop, managed with a spirit of great openness by her father, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, her work brought her in close contact with the many Italian and foreign artists who came to the furnace in those years. During that period, she used the techniques of Murano to create refined works with unusual colors, among which the plates in vetro mosaico deserve particular mention. From 1985 to 1993, she was the designer and artistic director of Eos and later worked as designer for Rosenthal and for Ivan Baj. Further developing her own artistic identity through the creation of original works, lately she has focused her attention on the sculptural qualities of the material, which is often finished in singular textures. De Santillana’s meditated study of color has produced original solutions. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in Europe, the United States, and Japan, winning widespread consensus. Several of her works have been acquired by public and private collections such as the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, and the Museo Vetrario di Murano.

Photograph by Luca Vignelli
Glicine
Venini & C., 1979

Laura Diaz de Santillana GlicineVenini & C., 1979

A plate with cristallo, yellow, amethyst, and blue pale murrine arranged to replicate a wisteria pattern.

Engraved: venini italia 79 100/3 Laura.
Ø; 10 5/8 in. (27 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, 1996, n. 255;
A. Venini Diaz de Santillana, 2000, n. 262;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 151;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 189.

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.

Glicine
Venini & C., 1979