VI, the divine chandelier, is a fusion of two ancient Italian traditions: Murano glass and wine. It is the creative vision of Master Fabio Fornasier, who combined his technical skills with his passion for both art forms.
The chandelier’s name, “VI,” is derived from the Latin words for glass “vitrum” and wine “vinum”. It is a perfect embodiment of the two arts.
Inspired by the Rezzonico chandelier, the most famous Venetian chandelier, Fornasier reinterpreted its shape using 180 bottles of Franciacorta wine. The bottles were expertly ground and reshaped by hand at 1300 degrees Celsius, then assembled using traditional Murano glassmaking methods.
The first example of VI was unveiled at the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale. A year later, a similar but larger chandelier was exhibited at the Cheongju International Biennale in South Korea, where it won third prize. In 2011, VI was exhibited at Glasstress in Riga, Latvia, at the Art Museum Riga Bourse.
Today, VI chandelier is on permanent display at the Berengo Foundation – Contemporary Glass Art Work in Murano, Venice, Italy, and at the Gerovassiliou Wine Museum in Greece.
Handmade in Murano. Signed by artist.
