Fabrizio Plessi, Bottle sculptures, Murano glass, ca. 35 x 12 cm (each), 2025
Fondazione Barovier&Toso introduces the creation of a new contemporary art collection, celebrating the synthesis of modern artistry and Venetian heritage. Galleria Barovier&Toso, an art gallery housed at Palazzo Barovier&Toso, guides the collection’s evolution through curated donations. This initiative bridges today’s artistic innovation with the historical company’s seven-century legacy in Venetian craftsmanship.
The collection’s inaugural donations emerged from ‘H2O Venezia: Water Diaries’, an exhibition exploring Venice’s unique relationship with water and supported by the Foundation. Presented at SPUMA – Space for the Arts on Giudecca in 2024, the show featured works by five international emerging artists who completed residencies in Venice: Alizée Gazeau, Marija Jaensch, Amy Thai, Sofía Toribio, and Jiaying Wu. In the same year, Galleria Barovier&Toso enhanced the collection with glass artworks by these same artists, strengthening its ties to Murano’s historic glassmaking tradition.
In 2025, the Foundation received the donation of works from the exhibition ‘Perdersi in un bicchier d’acqua’ with renowned video artist Fabrizio Plessi at Palazzo Barovier&Toso. This marks the beginning of an annual program adding works in glass from internationally renowned artists who have little or no experience in working with glass. Plessi, known for his groundbreaking integration of natural elements with electronic media, explored Murano glass as a pure artistic material through his signature artistic language of ‘turbolenza’ (turbulence), creating sculptures where liquid movement becomes the very shape of the glass.
Each year, Galleria Barovier&Toso will hold a major exhibition on Murano with an internationally renowned artist new to glass. Through these collaborations, the Foundation will grow an exceptional and unique glass collection that remains available for future generations and is open for loan requests by institutions from around the world.