Valentina, Adriano-Dalla


Adriano dalla Valentina was born on the island of Murano in 1945. He began working in a glass factory at the incredibly early age of ten. For the next fourteen years he worked in various factories in Murano and thus was exposed to numerous traditional glass-blowing techniques. Then when he was twenty-four, dalla Valentina opened his own studio, where he could put into practice for himself all that he had absorbed from other "maestros." In 1974 he founded his glassworks called Linea Valentina. In the following years dalla Valentina began to distinguish himself for his commitment to the traditional techniques of the island. His use of "murrina" and "filigrana," incorporated into new forms and objects, has become his hallmark. He makes all his own canes for his complex vessels. His colors and patterns are marvelous, achieving an intricacy that is rare today, even in Murano. Rosa Barovier Mentasti, the eminent glass historian, has written that dalla Valentina "was led by the small dimensions of his furnace to develop the techniques of the murrine and cane working, in which he is outstanding."

Dalla Valentina has participated in many expositions over the years in Venice, Cremona, Milan, Rome and Florence. His sculpture was part of "Venezia Aperto Vetro" in 1998. He is well known in Italy for his exceptional technical virtuosity. This ability made possible a unique project executed in 1992-3. He worked with a class of talented young art students from the Art Institute in Venice, a class that included his son Stefano. Dalla Valentina donated his time to make each of their designs, even producing a book to commemorate the collaboration. The project received such acclaim that a second one was initiated in 1998. Adriano dalla Valentina continues to explore the art of glass, renewing the old, inventing the new. He works with his son Stefano at his side, a promise that this thousand-year tradition of Venetian glass will continue.