Tripudium of Nature | Michela Cattai's Venetian glass sculpture for AMANZOE

FEATURED ARTIST

TRIPUDIUM OF THE VENETIAN

NATURE: MICHELA CATTAI'S

BOTANICA VITREA COLLECTION

The natural biodiversity of the Venetian lagoon, comprising a multitude of animal and vegetal species that create a melody of colours and motions, represents both the essence and main source of inspiration for artist and designer Michela Cattai's sculpture. This corpus of work derives from a synthesis of marine imagery, floral symbolism and forms, shimmering in glass reflections.

Crafted with meticulous attention in the Murano glass furnaces, each piece is unrepeatable and embodies the empathetic dialogue between the artist’s vision and the master glassmaker’s hand. The form of the vessels, cast in amber and golden tones, evokes an element of continuity between tradition and contemporary sculpture. Through the creation of minimal forms, Cattai showcases her ability to evoke emotion in her sculpture, where colour thrives in its intense shades.

“There is a magical moment when we can give shape to our thoughts, repeat the history of millennia with a gesture and direct the act to create a form of luminous plasticity.”

“Cattai experiments with glass and narrates herself through a breath, that of the master glassmaker who in the ancestral dimension of the furnace gives form to the material.”

Cattai creates a dreamy herbarium in which the organic elements arise within the glass medium, bringing new bioforms to life. Botanica Vitrea encompasses both the fragility of glass and the force of nature, embracing practical, aesthetic and contemplative functions.

Each series within the collection, namely Corolla, Bocciolo, Botanica Adriatica and Libellula, is a unique testament to Nature's intricate and unpredictable rhythms, organic contours and vibrant textures. The sculptures draw directly from the peculiar rocky seabeds of the upper Adriatic and its specific flora, like the glasswort and the salsola. Every piece is a burst of vibrant tints, inviting our senses toward a sublime simplicity and suggesting a sentiment of growth and patience.

“Cattai’s driving force lies in the emotional sediments rooted in her memories of the water and the laguna environment, which lead to a contemporary reinterpretation of centuries-old techniques’ visual and tactile effects.”

Based in Milan, Michela Cattai (Treviso 1965) graduated in Painting from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice studying under Fabrizio Plessi, and began her research on Italian design and types of glass while attending Ennio Chiggio’s Design course. She then developed her technique by studying color and shape, making abstract, textural, artworks with different surfaces and color-shadings. From 2019 to 2023 she was appointed Artistic Director of Venini in Venice, for which she has created limited editions. Today, she works as an independent artist. Her creations pay homage to the golden age of Venetian glass while being an example of artistic innovation and contemporary reinterpretation in this creative field.

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Michela Cattai's Botanica Vitrea collection in the timeless resort setting of Amanzoe in Greece

A group of astonishing sculptures from the Botanica Vitrea collection has been created to be exhibited in the HANSHA exhibition at Amanzoe in the heart of the magnificent and savage Peloponnese peninsula. The contemporary Hellenistic architecture of the site embodies the sacred dimension of Greek mythology in an eternal space. With HANSHA, this contemporary acropolis finds its pantheon of artworks that recall the heritage of the Adriatic and the Aegean seas, with the Mediterranean as their common root. Viewers are invited to immerse themselves in a stream of connections and suggestions, from the mystical atmospheres of the land to the marine world, and enter a state of meditation and fluidity, facilitating a sense of renewal and regeneration.