Giulio Radi 1895–1952

Glass technician, designer, and entrepreneur Giulio Radi was born in Murano into a family of renowned glass technicians. His first work experience was in his father’s furnace, then in the furnace of Andrea Rioda. In 1921, he became one of the founders of the Successori Andrea Rioda, where his role was primarily administrative. He left the company in 1932 to become one of the founding partners of A.VE.M., where he became artistic director in 1939. It is here that he began an intense period of design and experimentation with glass. He devoted his research in particular to the field of metal oxides, where he discovered precious coloring techniques by using murrine and gold and silver dust on simple and suggestive shapes. His work was interrupted by his premature death in 1952. Assiduosly avoiding the camera, this is the only photo known to exist of the artist.