Cutting Edge – Contemporary Glass Jewelry exhibition presents the artistic creations of artists and designers who use glass as a vehicle of expression and who stand out for innovation and personality.
On view the works of Augustina Ros, Biba Schutz, Inou Beru, Mio Toyoda and Paolo Marcolongo in an open dialogue with many voices, in which talent, vision and technique are balanced in exclusive virtuosities.

Cutting Edge refers to some of the most experimental and contemporary creations in this sector, but also, as the word-play indicates, to aesthetics which are at times sharp, angular, dangerous.

The selection aims to provide an unusual and avant-garde perspective on glass jewelry, an affirmation of the identity of research that is today increasingly independent, even if still connected, to tradition. Various processes and techniques are used, then personalized by each of the creators by way of experimental techniques: from working with Murano glass, from the processing of hand-blown borosilicate glass, to the use of molds; from the joining and mixing of several materials and chemical components, to the combined processing of glass and porcelain.

Part of the project will be included in the program of the New York City Jewelry Week , which will be held from November 12th to 18th 2018 in New York

Biba Schutz is one of those artists who has no need to deepen the analytical phase of her creative process. Her intuitive ability and emotional approach to work allow her to achieve incredible results. During the course of her evolutionary journey, Biba has experimented with a range of materials, searching for a balanced dialogue between form and content, construction and meaning. With the aim of creating sensual and liquid sculptures, she has dedicated herself to developing the most elegant, simple and balanced ways of combining metal and glass. The union and the combination of these two materials always leads to outcomes of extreme contrast: the softness of rounded glass against the hardness of metal, the heat of the colours and the rhythmic and undulating movement of glass, against the coldness of the grey metal that in its own way contains, collects. Cutting has a specific importance and relevance in her work. In addition to always being executed with care and precision, finished in the smallest details, it creates that particular movement and global appearance of her jewellery that makes it unique. The alternation of full and empty forms, of openings and recesses, offers a modular and sensual rhythm, like an abstract, fluid, liquid lunar landscape.

BIBA SCHUTZ, Thumbalina, ph. credits Ron Boszko, Courtesy Vitraria Gallery

Augustina Ros is a young and promising glass jewelry artist who combines the sensitivity of art and the resolution of design. Born in Misiones, Argentina, she currently lives in Barcelona, the city where she has chosen to open her own studio with an international vision.Focused on the use of blown borosilicate glass, some pieces are then finished with metals such as gold and silver, and polished to improve the reflection of light. Her hungry desire to experiment, create and improve has already led her to receive several awards and to affirm the presence of her collections in international and creative contexts. Her creations are flexible interpretations of clean and organic forms, in which transparency represents the values of purity and originality. In Gold Reflection she has experimented by vaporizing precious metals, in this case gold, onto the glass in order to obtain a golden reflection in graded tones onto the color of the piece itself. The contrast of the colors and the chemical effects resulting from the vapors leads to a final effect similar to that of mirroring.

AUGUSTINA ROS, Gold Reflection Rings, Courtesy Vitraria Gallery

Mio Toyoda and Beru Inou represent an oriental contribution to the exhibition and an opposing vision interpreted from the perspective of forms and techniques.

Mio Toyoda uses the ancient technique known as pâte de verre, which allows the creation of three-dimensional objects without the use of a furnace. It consists of the creation of a clay or wax model and molding this with a refractory plaster that withstands high temperatures. This negative mold will hold the glass. When baked, the mold crumbles to reveal the previously created model. The piece is then deep cleaned, followed by the final installation. It is a technique requiring much time and patience. Toyoda focuses on exploring the infinite possibilities of the composition and density of glass, incorporating sand, silver, pigments. Finally, the pieces are polished in order to create unique objects characterized by a minimalist style.

MIO TOYODA, miscellaneous, Courtesy Vitraria Gallery

Fascinated by materials such as glass and porcelain, Beru Inou confronts creation with a kind of ingenuity and simplicity. She loves to play with the effects of the processing of the two materials, whether through contrast or harmony: the brightness and transparency of the glass together with the opacity and the warmth of the porcelain, and thus to discover its unexpected and disruptive effects.

BERU INOU, Nekotama, Courtesy Vitraria Gallery

Vitraria Gallery is an elegant and refined gallery that combines the emotion of history with the charm of creation, a space in which artists and designers present their personal research declined not only in the object to wear, but in daily use objects as well.

On the ground floor of the Hotel Nani Mocenigo Palace, the gallery presents an exclusive selection of unique pieces characterized by a new technical and aesthetic research. The selection is entrusted to a skilled team in order to always propose the best of the international and local scene.

Art, tradition and originality are the elements that unite every floor and environment of the hotel, thus promoting the passion for research, design and the world of glass in all its forms and supporting local craftsmanship and independent creativity.

Vitraria Gallery is curated by Adornment – Curating Contemporary Art Jewelry