KINETIC GLASS INSTALLATION IS A TRIBUTE TO HUMANITY’S QUEST FOR FLIGHT
AT BERENGO CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART & GLASS IN MURANO
56 TH VENICE ART BIENNALE DESIGN BY STUDIO DRIFT
KINETIC GLASS INSTALLATION IS A TRIBUTE TO HUMANITY’S
QUEST FOR FLIGHT AT BERENGO CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART & GLASS IN
CAMPIELLO DELLA PESCHERIA MURANO DESIGN BY STUDIO DRIFT
Made by: Lonneke
Gordijn and Ralph Nauta Materials: Glass, bronze,
electronics, wire
Somewhere between the late medieval age and the Enlightenment, art stopped being used as a means of teaching in everyday life. It started acting as a spiritual guide, helping us reach for a higher plane, the divine. The focus in art and architecture moved vertically upwards, reaching for the sky and aiming at the hereafter in heaven.
In 20 Steps is a tribute to the human desire to be able to fly, despite the force of gravity and the poetry of persistence in the face of adversity. Studio Drift is intrigued by the continuous attempts of humankind to deal with its limitations,
So miraculously opposed to nature as these ventures might be. Humankind has always had the desire to fully understand nature and to detach itself from earthly ties. No matter how far science has come, some things are likely to remain forever out of reach. In 20 Steps is a spatial, kinetic installation, constructed of 40 delicate glass wings that represent all the different steps of flying in an abstract way. At the same time, the piece captures flight in a single moment. The glass emphasizes the fragility of the movement and of nature itself. Simultaneously, the moving glass breaks the natural light in the space and reflects it in moving rays.
Somewhere between the late medieval age and the Enlightenment, art stopped being used as a means of teaching in everyday life. It started acting as a spiritual guide, helping us reach for a higher plane, the divine. The focus in art and architecture moved vertically upwards, reaching for the sky and aiming at the hereafter in heaven.
In 20 Steps is a tribute to the human desire to be able to fly, despite the force of gravity and the poetry of persistence in the face of adversity. Studio Drift is intrigued by the continuous attempts of humankind to deal with its limitations,
So miraculously opposed to nature as these ventures might be. Humankind has always had the desire to fully understand nature and to detach itself from earthly ties. No matter how far science has come, some things are likely to remain forever out of reach. In 20 Steps is a spatial, kinetic installation, constructed of 40 delicate glass wings that represent all the different steps of flying in an abstract way. At the same time, the piece captures flight in a single moment. The glass emphasizes the fragility of the movement and of nature itself. Simultaneously, the moving glass breaks the natural light in the space and reflects it in moving rays.
FONDAZIONE BERENGO
FONDAZIONE BERENGO
The Berengo Foundation (Fondazione Berengo) has two
main aims. The first is to revitalize and re-energize the glass industry in
Murano so that it can take its place, once more, as the world-renowned centre
of the glass industry and be able to attract new communities to contribute to
its economic success and financial security. The second aim of the foundation
is to educate those who are already interested in the art of glass-making,
inspire those who are looking for a new medium for their work, and re-establish
glass making as a skill and craft of the highest significance. A critically
important aspect of the work of the foundation is to position glass making on
an international stage by continuing the highly acclaimed GLASSTRESS series of
exhibitions.
Fondazione Berengo also provides educational opportunities by offering, in collaboration with art schools and other institutions, a residency program for glass artists, and an internship program for students so they may explore their artistic ideas in a traditional glass furnace. Through this program, students have the opportunity to work in one of the most prolific glass making centres in the world, learning the skill and craft of glass making from masters in the trade. The foundation also provides work placements, short courses and summer schools, organizes international symposia and conferences, promotes research and funding opportunities and celebrates the work of glass innovation in international exhibitions.
The foundation also sponsors an internship program for students with backgrounds in art-related disciplines, for example, the visual arts, architecture, philosophy, art history and management. Students applying for an internship should be committed to working towards a qualification in arts management and may work on a range of different tasks: catalogue and brochure design, website development, exhibition and installation. In addition, interns will assist artists in the development and realisation of their work, assist in research projects and generally organise and coordinate different aspects of the gallery.
Fondazione Berengo also provides educational opportunities by offering, in collaboration with art schools and other institutions, a residency program for glass artists, and an internship program for students so they may explore their artistic ideas in a traditional glass furnace. Through this program, students have the opportunity to work in one of the most prolific glass making centres in the world, learning the skill and craft of glass making from masters in the trade. The foundation also provides work placements, short courses and summer schools, organizes international symposia and conferences, promotes research and funding opportunities and celebrates the work of glass innovation in international exhibitions.
The foundation also sponsors an internship program for students with backgrounds in art-related disciplines, for example, the visual arts, architecture, philosophy, art history and management. Students applying for an internship should be committed to working towards a qualification in arts management and may work on a range of different tasks: catalogue and brochure design, website development, exhibition and installation. In addition, interns will assist artists in the development and realisation of their work, assist in research projects and generally organise and coordinate different aspects of the gallery.
KINETIC GLASS INSTALLATION IS A TRIBUTE TO HUMANITY’S
QUEST FOR FLIGHT AT BERENGO CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART & GLASS IN
CAMPIELLO DELLA PESCHERIA MURANO DESIGN BY STUDIO DRIFT
Design firm Studio Drift has created an
installation of thin glass bars that move like wings for an exhibition during
the 2015 Venice Art Biennale .
Installed inside an old building on the island of Murano
– which is famous for its glassmaking industry – the In 20 Steps installation
is part of a wider exhibition of glass artworks to coincide with the Venice Art
Biennale this summer.
Forty bars of glass are arranged in pairs and
suspended from the ceiling so that their brass-tipped ends meet. This
connection point acts as a pivot for each of the pairs, with invisible plastic
wire creating the illusion of them hanging in space.
The wires are attached to an electronic system that
lengthens and shortens them to create an up and down movement. All of the pairs
move at different times to each other, like wings slowly flapping.
"In 20 Steps is a tribute to the human desire to
be able to fly, despite the force of gravity, and the poetry of persistence in
the face of adversity," said a statement from Studio Drift.
"The glass emphasises the fragility of the
movement and of nature itself. Simultaneously, the moving glass breaks the
natural light in the space and reflects it in moving rays."
The installation is part of Glasstress 2015 Gotika, an
exhibition organised by Russia's State Hermitage Museum and glass company Berengo
Studio, and is housed in the Berengo Foundation's Centre for Contemporary
Art and Glass.
An official collateral event for this year's art
biennale, which opened in May, the exhibition aims to explore how medieval
ideas and communication methods have crept into modern thinking – despite
technological advances – and the influence of the Gothic style on contemporary
art.
Studio Drift focused specifically on the period
between the late Medieval age and the Enlightenment in Europe.
"The focus in art and architecture moved
vertically upwards, reaching for the sky and aiming at the hereafter in
heaven," explained the studio.
Amsterdam-based Studio Drift was founded by Dutch
native Lonneke Gordijn and British designer Ralph Nauta, who met while studying
together at Design Academy Eindhoven.
The studio focuses on the intersection between design,
art and technology. Previous projects have included a mirror made from chemical waste, plexiglass chairs with ghost-like
forms inside them, and a battery-powered LED light covered in
dandelion seeds.
Glasstress 2015 Gotika runs until 27 September and is
split across two venues – the Berengo Centre for Contemporary Art and Glass in
Campiello Della Pescheria, Murano, and Palazzo Franchetti on Campo Santo
Stefano in Venice.
Movie is by Duco Volker. You may watch the movie
end of the news.
STUDIO DRIFT
Studio Drift was founded in 2006 by Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn, both
graduates of the renowned Design Academy Eindhoven (NL). Their philosophy is
based on creating a dialogue between opposites: nature and technology, knowledge
and intuition, science fiction and nature. Studio Drift creates projects that
balance on the fine line between arts and design. They draw their inspiration
from nature as a starting point, both in a formal and a philosophical way,
while the creative process is fuelled by innovative techniques. Light is a key
element in their work, but is always treated as an artistic ingredient rather
than a functional tool to illuminate.
PHILOSOPHY
“ People find the time to look at art within a gallery
setting, but the world is one big exhibition if you only care to look ”.
Lonneke Gordijn
Studio Drift explores the relationship between nature, technology and mankind. Their working process involves continuing collaborations with scientists, university departments, research facilities, programmers and engineers; the results are truly innovative and ground-breaking projects – a testament to the cross-pollination between the technically advanced, the aesthetically beautiful and awareness of future potentials. Their oeuvre includes dazzling site-specific installations that react directly to human behaviour, questioning it at the same time. While the visual language of Studio Drift is characterized by dreamy and poetic aesthetics, the concept behind their works is often based on an unexpectedly critical engagement.
“ We want to encourage people to see things that they no longer notice; to reach a kind of unconscious recognition that everyone instinctively feels and understands, yet have lost the time for. '' Ralph Nauta
Lonneke Gordijn
Studio Drift explores the relationship between nature, technology and mankind. Their working process involves continuing collaborations with scientists, university departments, research facilities, programmers and engineers; the results are truly innovative and ground-breaking projects – a testament to the cross-pollination between the technically advanced, the aesthetically beautiful and awareness of future potentials. Their oeuvre includes dazzling site-specific installations that react directly to human behaviour, questioning it at the same time. While the visual language of Studio Drift is characterized by dreamy and poetic aesthetics, the concept behind their works is often based on an unexpectedly critical engagement.
“ We want to encourage people to see things that they no longer notice; to reach a kind of unconscious recognition that everyone instinctively feels and understands, yet have lost the time for. '' Ralph Nauta
AWARDS
2014: Beste piece of Arte Laguna – Arsenale, Venice, Italy | Flylight
2014: Artist in Residence ‘ART STAYS’ – part of the Premio Arte Laguna Art Prize | Flylight
2012: Finest light sculpture - Interieur, Kortrijk | Fragile Future 3
2011: 1st Prize ‘ZomerExpo’ – Gemeentemuseum, Netherlands | Fragile Future 3.5
2010: The Moet Hennessy – Pavilion of Art and Design London Prize 2010 in October | Fragile Future concrete chandelier
2009: ‘Lener van het jaar’, Materiaalfonds, Milan, Italy | Ghost Collection
2008: International Design Prize ‘Lights of the future’, German Design Council | Fragile Future
2006: Art prize 2006, 1st Prize, Stichting ArtiParti | Fragile Future
2006: Young Talent Award, Stichting MS Research | Fragile Future
2014: Beste piece of Arte Laguna – Arsenale, Venice, Italy | Flylight
2014: Artist in Residence ‘ART STAYS’ – part of the Premio Arte Laguna Art Prize | Flylight
2012: Finest light sculpture - Interieur, Kortrijk | Fragile Future 3
2011: 1st Prize ‘ZomerExpo’ – Gemeentemuseum, Netherlands | Fragile Future 3.5
2010: The Moet Hennessy – Pavilion of Art and Design London Prize 2010 in October | Fragile Future concrete chandelier
2009: ‘Lener van het jaar’, Materiaalfonds, Milan, Italy | Ghost Collection
2008: International Design Prize ‘Lights of the future’, German Design Council | Fragile Future
2006: Art prize 2006, 1st Prize, Stichting ArtiParti | Fragile Future
2006: Young Talent Award, Stichting MS Research | Fragile Future
