Massimo Micheluzzi, New Works: Featuring Works from Negozio Olivetti by Carlo Scarpa

Despite these competing characteristics, I believe a sympathy exists between the fine elements of culture and art, be it cuisine, design, architecture, or craft. It is clear to me that three elements are profoundly in common: genuine and pure appreciation for raw ingredients and materials; a love and affinity for nature; and fine quality in simplicity.

Simplicity is not mere subtraction or austerity, but rather a humble attitude in approaching the environment, built spaces, and the architecture that brings life into color without the need to express the power or value of an object to its fullest extent.

The inherently shared sensibilities of Japan and Italy have made tremendous cultural contributions to the world despite the relatively small size of each country. The craftsmen of both cultures value tradition, innovation, and expertise.

Massimo's works are mosaics of exciting patterns, uniquely Italian in sense of color, and a gentle size that fits between one’s palms. Though certainly eye-catching, the presence of each mosaic harmonizes with their surroundings, echoing architectural elements: lines, curves, and colors; materials such as cobblestones, tiles, wood; and light and shadow.

Laura de Santillana's works—veiled worlds of glass—cast our minds endlessly through myriad refractions of light and incredible colors. Her works gracefully fuse her vision of Japan with the longstanding traditions of Murano glass.

We are eagerly waiting to see what kinds of dialogue and impressions these exhibitions will induce.

Micheluzzi’s masterworks of design are partly made by fusing fragments of patterned glass into a single layer that can be manipulated with air in the ultrahot furnace. Other works are cold-carved and shaped by his own hand. For his latest series, created in 2023, Micheluzzi paid close attention to the site of his initial exhibit, the Negozio Olivetti designed by renowned architect Carlo Scarpa in 1958. Curated by Cristina Beltrami with Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano (FAI), Micheluzzi’s collection is “not a simple homage to the architect, but an expression of shared roots, the shared passion of both men for the Byzantine as encapsulated by Venice’s plays of light, its silences and, naturally, its mosaics. This system of tesserae is found in the extraordinary floor of the Negozio Olivetti, a modern interpretation of the Venetian terrazzo…space for those minimal variations of nuance and movement that make the ground itself come to life and vibrate, according to the same principles that can be found in Micheluzzi’s vases.”

Murrina panels that he designs combining brown, aqua, mustard, olive and terra cotta suggest the beauty of the terrazzo floors found throughout the palazzos of Venice. Black and white murrina evoke the beautiful veining of the elegant marble quarried throughout Italy. The shapes of these pieces are kept to his modern sensibility allowing the strength of his patterning to shine.

In Massimo’s most recent body of work spanning from 2022-2023, he has expanded on the opus sectile technique. Many of the works come straight from the Negozio Olivetti at Piazza San Marco in Venice, an architectural marvel designed by Carlo Scarpa. The works were created in close relation to the architecture, and in my opinion, his best work yet—married in perfect tandem with the space.  

This vein of work of his has always given me great joy, as I remember admiring the cosmatesque floors of Venetian churches, noting that I should guide Massimo to doing something like this with glass—so I snapped some photos and showed him. Without saying anything, Massimo took me back to the gallery to show me that he was already working on a series of vases with these kinds of patterns.

It gives me great pleasure to collaborate with Ippodo Gallery on our second  exhibition, Massimo Micheluzzi: New Works Featuring Works from Negozio Olivetti by Carlo Scarpa, as a former resident of the Upper East Side gallery space, and good friend of the Ippodo Gallery.

Massimo Micheluzzi is an artist on his own terms creating only that which gives him joy. He is keeping alive the tradition of glassmaking that was born in Murano, just a short boat ride away from where he was born and still lives today. I always look forward to visiting him to see what is “next” as his vision continues to constantly evolve.

— Barry Friedman, 2024