Modern Murano: A New Collection from Ochre
Ochre’s latest collection is about Modern Murano. Sometimes inspirations are profound in their subtlety. Daily sightings of the ebb and flow of tides in Venice’s canals became embedded in the imaginations of Ochre’s founders on a visit to Venice over five years ago. The volumes of water, the ever-changing hues, and the deep tidal marks on gondola mooring poles began to distill into a new creative venture called Marea.
The collection of hand-blown Murano glass pendant lights in mesmerizing watery hues reflects the changing seasons, the soft quality of Venetian light, and the muted reds and ochres of the city’s architecture.
Each pendant has a distinct personality. The Marea features a trio of layered tones composed in precise ratios to enhance the form. The refracted light, intensified by an ingenious and barely visible internal brass spiral. The Clochette features a floating canopy speckled with silver and clutching a pod beneath. They are unique, delicate, and ultimately mesmerizing.
When switched on, reflections gently wave and spin across the interior architecture of a room echoing the movement of water. When off, ripples gently radiate.
The research and development behind Marea involved intense education and experimentation with the Ochre team meeting specialist glass-blowing studios across the island of Murano. The time spent is a tiny drop in the great sprawling history of Venetian glass blowing that first became a significant industry in the late c.13th.
Over the centuries, numerous specialist techniques emerged including cristallo (clear): lattino (milky) and murrino (mosaie) helping further the exceptional reputation of Venetian glass against a growing tide of competitors in Bohemia and France Indeed, Murano glass connoisseurship became a pre-requisite in cultured circles with collectors seeking ever more rarefied artifacts with lighting and chandeliers being the most prized.
Today, each glassmaking studio, often run by successive generations, continues to uphold a signature technique and aesthetic yet quality can vary wildly. Ochre found its mark: in 3 niche makers (one of the few to employ women glassblowers) that can create works of extraordinary clarity and is also highly sensitive to Ochre’s nuanced color palettes. Bringing this legacy into a new age – hence the phrase Modern Murano.
The myriad of skills across each glass. blowing tears come together. in the final creation with each pendant possessing a unique identity. These works of art are a tribute to Murano artistry, the timeless spirit of Ochre, and the wonder that is Venice.
