An exhibition dedicated to the hundred years of Nason Moretti is coming to the Murano Glass Museum.
The exhibition, titled “One Hundred Years of Nason Moretti: A Story of a Murano Glass Family,” celebrates the centenary of the renowned Murano-based entity, Nason Moretti, which in 2023 marks a century of activity.
“This is an opportunity,” says Mariacristina Gribaudi, President of the MUVE Foundation, “to take a journey into the past, unveil archives, and share with the audience of the Glass Museum an important corporate history characterized by over ten thousand models.”
“The exhibition and the subsequent commemorative volume published by Marsilio will showcase the most successful objects created by the furnace and collaborations with significant figures in the fields of design and architecture. Additionally, we won’t overlook a section dedicated to the present to demonstrate the vitality of this great Murano-based family enterprise,” anticipate Cristina Beltrami and Chiara Squarcina, the curators of the exhibition.
Founded in 1923 as Cristalleria Nason & Moretti, the company immediately focused on the art of tableware. With a modern approach, it managed to keep the technical tradition of the past alive by reinterpreting it in a contemporary context and utilizing semi-industrial production methods, thanks to extensive use of molds. The first room of the exhibition will welcome visitors with a striking setup that will immediately highlight the uniqueness of Nason Moretti, closely tied to the art of tableware, featuring objects of various shapes and intense colors.
The exhibition’s chronological journey continues through symbolical services, such as the “Francesca” from 1926, of which one specimen is preserved at the Wolfsonian Museum in Genoa, and the 1930 “Vittoriale” glassware in black glass and coral red, as well as the “Rep,” the official chalice of the Quirinale tables. This has always been a close dialogue between design and the realized object.
With a rich palette and a continuous openness to innovation, Nason & Moretti became a point of reference in the field of design, starting in 1955 when the “Lidia” cups were awarded the Compasso d’Oro. The same series of glasses was donated to the MoMa museum in New York by architect Philip Johnson in 1956. Starting from the mid-1950s, Nason & Moretti also became a constant presence at the Venice Biennales.
The exhibition will conclude with a selection of more recent iconic glassworks, many of which are still in production, and collaborations with contemporary artists and designers like Fabio Bortolani, Maria Grazia Rosin, Marco Zito, and Matteo Zorzenoni. The Nason family states, “We are proud to celebrate the history of our company, still managed as a true family business since its inception. Reflecting on the models and events of our past has brought back many memories that allow us to look to the future with even greater confidence.”
