Infinity Vessel in Venice

Communication installation by glass artists Sini Majuri and Marja Hepo-aho was exhibited at The Italian Glass Week’s HUB exhibition arranged in the Palazzo Loredan in Venice on 17 – 25 September 2022. The exhibition consisted of design objects by Majuri and Hepo-aho. The deeper message of the installation was to evoke discussion about the state of the contemporary glass and the artist’s responsibility as a reflector of time. The HUB installation is connected to Infinity Vessel production which was not accepted in the glass week’s program. How ever the rejected project mirroring the state of the society was welcomed to the Berengo Studio in Murano. Read an article about the exhibition at Savon Sanomat Newspaper.

_{^{In Finnish mythology and culture a swamp has a strong meaning. It is an intermediate space between water and earth, the present and the hereafter. It is where unwanted babies and misfits of the society were drowned to. In the Communication production the swamp represents the taboos of the society as well as glass field. Photo: Juha-Matti Vahdersalo}}

Artists gave a lecture in the Hotel Saturnia to open the unique challenges and characteristics of the field from the perspective of Finnish and international glass. Glass artists are often asked to exhibit safe, beautiful, Scandinavian objects – as the contemporary glass, which deals with society’s taboos, is in a challenging situation in front of financiers and industry institutions. These actors define the field and what kind of art is accepted.

^{The images by photographer Juha-Matti Vahdersalo mirror the theme of the Communication and Infinity Vessel productions – how artist must take the responsibility to highlight the taboos of the time. Scandinavian design objects rise up from the swamp – as the topics that are not to be talked about. The United Nations International Year of Glass 2022 has a significant meaning, as the endangered craftmanship is also being arranged to the Unesco’s World heritage listing.}

_{Paradox – Noa Milo is a part of theInfinity Vessel project exhibited in Murano. Glass vessel can be seen as a womb, a surface between an individual and the society. Fetus is the potential and hope sheltered by the insubstantial skin. Artists are using ornaments from Finnish and Ukrainian tradition. Golden hand painted pine needle is a symbol of bravery as the serpent is a protecting element. Bronze cast: Arto Hyyryläinen. Glass blower: Kari Alakoski. Photographer: Francesco Barasciutti, Venice 2022}

The Communication project is connected to the Infinity Vessel production that opened in Berengo Studio in September 17th 2022 – outside the official glass week program. The triptych with an exhibition, show and a treasure hunt combine glass with multiple innovative technologies. Augmented reality and holographic art are mixed with glass that reflects the lovelessess in society; what happens to an individual when humanity and emotions are disconnected from the surrounding community. The project started when the artists decided to comment on the War in Ukraine, pandemics as well as the women’s rights.

The live glass blowing show in Berengo Studio had Teemu Nurmelin from Finnish National Theater as the visual designer. The starting point of the show is to contemplate the glassblowing demo as its own unrecognized art form. In the article of Savon Sanomat newspaper it is written, that “the experience of the glass show turned out to be powerful on many levels. A strong sense of trust was created between the audience and the artists when the hot glass mass revealed the details of the work as part of the storytelling. Some of the audience wanted to share their feelings after the show, some even cried”.

_{The Infinity Vessel project has more than 20 professional from different fields of technology and art in the production team. The holographic projection is by Craneworks Oy. The Infinity Vessel production is supported by Asko Foundation.}

The third part of the triptych, a hunt of valuable glass artifacts hidden through the city of Venice and Murano island as a real life adventure. Visitors were encouraged to seek out sculptures and discuss the topics of the project on social media. In the treasure hunt, artists wanted to shake off the stigma of elitism from glass art, so they offered thousands of euros worth of unique glass to the public on the principle of “the finder gets to keep”.

Infinity Vessel contemporary art project pushes the limits of the ancient art of glass. A documentary about the birth and reception of the Infinity Vessel is also being made, directed by Ditte Uljas. The project is part of Corning Museum of Glass’s collection in New York.

The next Infinity Vessel show will be arranged in Detroit 2023 as the movie will be premiered in the Glass Art Society’s annual conference. The Noa Milo sculpture is also exhibited at Art Miami at the Berengo Studio’s booth in November 2022.

Infinity Vessel in Venice

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