Vetreria Alfredo Barbini 1932–

Alfredo Barbini worked as an apprentice at S.A.I.A.R. Ferro Toso and the Società Anonima Vetrerie e Cristallerie di Murano. He also worked as a glassblower in furnaces such as Barovier Seguso & Ferro, V.A.M.S.A., and in particular, Gino Cenedese & C., where he served as the artistic director. In 1950, Barbarini opened his own furnace. Skilled in the hot-work manipulation of massiccio glass, to Barbini channeled his efforts towards researching the malleability of glass, as his preference for essential forms continued to grow. After the ’60s, Flavio Barbini joined his father in both the administration of the company and product design. Today, the company is still one of the most important glassmakers in Murano.

Photograph by Luca Vignelli
Alfredo Barbini, Vetreria Alfredo Barbini, 1962
Alfredo Barbini
Vetro pesante, 1962

Alfredo Barbini   Vetro pesanteVetreria Alfredo Barbini, 1962

Sculptural vessel in pesante, heavy glass, sommerso in several layers of glass. The core of the sculpture is red, the finish a tight wheel-carved horizontal inciso.

10 1/2 in. high (26.7 cm)
Exhibitions:
1962, Venice, 31st Biennale Internazionale d’Arte;
2000, New York, Venetian Glass, Museum of Arts & Design;
2001, Milan, Murano: Vetri dalla Collezione Olnick Spanu, Spazio Oberdan.

Bibliography and comparative texts:
Catalogue 31st Biennale…, 1962, n. 210;
Mille anni…, 1982, n. 571;
M. Heiremans, 1989, n. 30;
M. Cocchi, 1991, n. 49;
M. Heiremans, 1993, n. 17;
M. Barovier, R. Barovier Mentasti,
A. Dorigato, 1995, n. 134;
M. Heiremans, 1996, n. 213;
H. Ricke, E. Schmitt, 1996, n. 252;
M. Barovier, 1999, p. 243;
Olnick Spanu, 2000, n. 133;
Olnick Spanu, 2001, n. 168;
A. Dorigato, 2002, p. 335.