Judy Harvest – “Murrine” and catalogue

99,00 €

A limited edition of 50 necklace pendants is to be created on the occasion of Venetian Satellite, a big luminous Murano glass and steel installation inspired by Telestar, the first satellite launched into space in 1962. The pendants reproduce the shape of the Venetian Satellite using the ancient Murano murrhine glass technique. Hundreds of years of traditions and secrets come out of the furnaces of Murano, reborn every day with each object that comes to life from the fire. Of all of the ancient techniques, few are as mysterious and risky as the murrine. Murrine and space exploration have a lot in common; the execution is difficult and one never knows the exact results until you arrive. Murrine is glass prepared according to a complex technical and ancient method dating back to Alexandrian and Roman glassmaking industries of the 1st century BC. This specialization was revived in Murano in 1870. Murrine are created by the juxtaposition of rod sections with an internal design, visible when cut. The technique canna millefiori was invented in 1836 by Domenico Bussolin, which was the rebirth of murrine. To create a murrina, one must prepare the same number of glass rods for each section of the design. The glass rods are prepared by two maestros pulling hot glass at length, until the desired thinness of the rod is reached, then arranging them next to each other and adhering them one at a time, following the design. Once completed, the cylinder is placed in the furnace for 3 days. The composition, resembling a small cake, is removed and 2 maestros stretch the cylinder to a single rod of the desired diameter. At this point, it is difficult to distinguish the number of rods used, which could be thousands. The technique for creating the VENETIAN SATELLITE murrina in 2006, is exactly the same as it was over 160 years ago, and similar to the 1st century BC. The difference is for VENETIAN SATELLITE, is the design and execution were completed mainly by women in Murano. Creating a communication satellite in glass, symbolizes the refinement of conversation, in the shape of a small, delicate, jewel a precious souvenir commemorating this exhibition at the Caffè Florian.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Judi Harvest is a New York multimedia artist whose work includes sculpture, painting and video. She has shown works in New York and in Venice, where she lived from 1987 to 1991. After learning the ancient art of blown glass from the Venetian masters, working in glass became an important part of her creative activity.

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