Alessandro Mandruzzato’s Gift to the State Hermitage Museum

On November 16th, 2011, a presentation ceremony was held to mark the gift of the “Opera Diva (profile of a woman)” sculpture, created by the famous Venetian Artist Alessandro Mandruzzato, to the Museum.

The “Diva” sculptural composition (230x100x60 cm) was made from transparent and “pasta” colored Murano glass; pure 24 karat leaf gold, steel and wood were used in the melting, casting and, engraving process.
This work illustrates the primary trends apparent in contemporary glassmaking, and is created in the tradition of the Venetian school of glass, a recognized leader in the field of applied art.

Alessandro Mandruzzato was born in Venice in 1970. A representative of the third generation of Murano masters, he began his career at the age of fifteen at his father’s factory, where he did engraving and polishing work. Alessandro declined to participate in traditional education in order to study every nuance of the process of creating Murano glass, from beginning to end.

After his first exhibit on the Island of Murano, he became the head of the OVERGLASS association of young Murano glass masters, which helps young people to develop and gives the world the opportunity to see their work. Mandruzzato’s personal exhibits have been held with great success in the United States, Dubai and Italy.

Alessandro has been a participant in a number of joint Russian-Italian projects since 2005, such as the “White Nights” Russian-Italian ball in Florence and the “Children for Children” charitable project in Saint Petersburg, at the Europe Grand Hotel. The artist’s first personal exhibit, “My Life and Glass,” was held this year in the Erarta Gallery of Contemporary Art in Saint Petersburg as part of the Year of Italy in Russian and the Year of Russia in Italy.

Alessandro’s art is a characteristic example of the contemporary approach to working with glass. He aspires to create large scale figurative compositions in this medium, making full use of the rich decorative potential of glass. As a master of the Venetian school, Mandruzzato prefers to use the rich, brightly colored palette of the 20th century Murano artists in his work.

The artist with his sculptural composition

Alessandro Mandruzzato

At the press conference

“Opera Diva”
Alessandro Mandruzzato
Larger image

A memento photo