Venetian designer Luca Nichetto has designed a collection of objects that take their form from glass-blowing tools.
Top: ESSENCE Tre
Ashtray/candle holder deriving from the shaping of glass through the process of extrusion and comprising of a ceramic body with a tube of Murano glass inserted horizontally through it. The glass tube can also be removed and placed vertically atop the ceramic base to function as a light-diffusing candle holder. Limited numbered edition of 29
Above: ESSENCE Uno
One of the traditional wooden moulds used for shaping blown glass is repurposed here as a vase of ceramic and Murano glass. The vase has two receptacles, one in the ceramic exterior and one in the glass component. Limited numbered edition of 29
Called Essence, the collection comprises eight objects made of glass, ceramic, wood and metal.
Above: ESSENCE Due
Large ceramic bowl with a lens of blown Murano glass nestled within it. This object presents a faithful transposition of the mould used to shape glass through the use of centrifugal force. Limited numbered edition of 29
Produced in collaboration with ceramics company Bosa and glassware brand Venini, they include a table, coat stand, candle holder and containers.
Above: ESSENCE Quattro
Vase/centrepiece in ceramic that reinterprets the plaster mould used to give shape to poured ceramic.
The collection is on show at L’espace-Boutique in Paris this month before moving to the Vessel Gallery in London in February.
Above: ESSENCE Cinque
Centrepiece/candle holder in ceramic that echoes the process by which various materials are shaped by being poured into a mould. The modular nature of the design allows the object to be adapted to serve different functions.
Photographs are by Roberto Bandiera. Captions are provided by the designer.
Above: ESSENCE Sei
Table in ceramic with a lacquered metal base. The object finds its origins in the lathe, a tool used in the decoration of glass objects and the production of ceramic ones.
Here's some more information from Bosa:
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Bosa presents
Essence
Design by Luca Nichetto
Handmade in Italy with Venini
An exhibition of Essence, the collection designed by Luca Nichetto and produced by Bosa in collaboration with Venini, will be inaugurated at 6:30 on the evening of December 3. In January, the show will then travel beyond Italy’s borders, first to Paris, where it will be hosted by 107 RIVOLI, L’espace-Boutique, and then to the Vessel Gallery in London. The collection will then be further honoured with its presentation at Maison & Objet in Paris.
Above: ESSENCE Sette
Multifunctional container in ceramic and wood. This is a reinterpretation of the kinds of crates used for packing and shipping various kinds of merchandise.
As the designer’s first, this exhibition is a highly personal one that he has used to highlight his Venetian heritage and his strong connection to his native city’s tradition of artisanal craftsmanship, both of which have always played a part in inspiring his designs.
With Essence, Luca Nichetto has attempted to share the knowledge of processes of artisanal production that have been his birthright since childhood. In fact, the collection is about reinterpreting some of the most representative instruments employed in the shaping of glass and ceramic objects. Essence is its own description: every one of the objects comprising the line represents one of the tools that usually remain unseen, tools which the designer wants to bring into the light and acknowledge, though changing their destined uses in the process.
Following this guiding principle, he produced vases, bowls, candle holders, and small objects of interior design whose approach to the materials – glass, ceramic, wood and metal – emphasizes the designer’s Venetian roots, evoking the particularities of a design methodology based upon a dialogue between all of the various players involved in the production process.
With this new collection, Luca Nichetto – who began his professional activity designing projects for Salviati and then began producing designs for Bonaldo, Casamania by Frezza, Emmegi, Foscarini, Fratelli Guzzini, Gallotti & Radice, Italesse, Kristalia and Moroso – has now come full circle to work once more with Murano glass by involving Venini in the production of certain elements of the line, while simultaneously bolstering his collaboration with Bosa Ceramiche, which is responsible for the collection’s distribution.