Sandro Chia

Designer

Born in Florence on April 20th, 1946, Sandro Chia attended the Istituto d’Arte and Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence. 
He travelled to India, Turkey and most of Europe to then settle in Rome in 1970. Here, he developed his work in the conceptual field holding many exhibitions in Italy and Europe. 
A leading exponent of the Transavantgarde movement, Chia distinguished himself with his unmistakable style, which hovers between the power of signs and the impetuousness of colours: the creations that derive from it do not so much describe reality as outline an imaginary world. 
The two works Mappamondi he created for VENINI clearly express his identity as an artist: they are the fruits of a conceptual design where the glass, almost a globe, seems to swirl around at high speed, pervaded by mysterious light penetrating from below. The magical multi-coloured radiations shine all around and shed light even on the base structure in cast bronze. 
The glassmaking techniques involved employ layers of glass in different colours, with gradations developing vertically on a transparent glass mass.