Lino / bronzed

5 of 12
Edition of 12, plus 2 APs
88cm x 88cm
 
Metallic pigment print on 300gsm Titanium Gloss
 
KD Fine Art Diasec mount to black Perspex
 
Laser cut MDF subframe 
 
 
ARTIST STATEMENT
 
My original love of Italian design stems from some heady days in the mid eighties when I used to collect and custom paint Lambretta and Vespa motor scooters, often with highly lacquered metal flake and candy finishes.
 
I’ve visited Italy many times over the years, but my first visit to Murano was in 2014 I think.
 
Amid the tourist kitsch, I discovered extraordinary glass studios especially that of Lino Tagliapietra, whose fluid linework and use of colour remain a major influence.

I’d been to Venice several times, once hitchhiking all the way there from the UK, but hadn’t previously made it over to the island of Murano, where the celebrated glasswork is actually made.

It was a revelation, of course. In amongst some of the most overcooked glassware I’ve ever seen, and the tourist shops filled with the most garish merchandise, are some of the most sublime glass making studios in the world.

Not least of these is Lino Tagliapietra’s studio glass workshop. I hope my Lino piece may evoke a little of his astonishing free form style, and in particular, the way his linework moves so sinuously through the pieces. His work continues to be a source of real inspiration, both for line and colour.