Fulvio Bianconi

Fulvio Bianconi, born in Padova in 1915, demonstrated an extraordinary artistic talent and astonishing drawing skills from an early age. Originally interested in drawing caricatures, the young man started his career as a graphic designer in Milan in the early 1930s. During the next decade, he started working with glass art and soon began a long and fruitful co-operation with Venini, a Muranese glass factory. In the 1950s, Bianconi became one of Venini’s most prolific artists, and his style eventually influenced the whole production of the factory. In the 1950 Venice Biennal, a significant amount of the items displayed by the factory was of Bianconi’s design. His modern take on Muranese glass brought international recognition to the Venini glass factory as well as to the artist himself.
The work as a graphic designer and designing art glass went hand in hand throughout Bianconi’s career. His background as a caricaturist and a painter were strongly present in his glass art – Bianconi’s vividly coloured glass artefacts are full of humour and playfulness.