2022 The Italian Glass Weeks: "Perle in tasca I" Muriel Balensi, Yuki Ebukuro, Lucia Santini, Benedetta Gaggia, Sébastian Corré

Perle in Tasca is a 2 year project ( The Venice Glass Week 2022 and 2023) which has the objective to promote the contemporary artists around Murano and Venice bead making while providing historical insight to the Venetian bead making culture , and a worldwide substantial export business, recognized by Unesco as Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2020. Artists participating to the 2022 edition are : French glass artist Muriel Balensi (work a lume), Japanese glass artist Yukina Fiorese (work a lume), Muranese glass artist Lucia Santini ( vetro sofiato), Venetian designer Benedetta Gaggia ( conterie ) as well as guest jewelery designer from France: Sebastien Carré (conterie). Inspired by the book " Il Giardino delle Perle " written by Serena Rabitti and Maria Clemente Zaghini , a short documentary of Nicola di Robilant will accompany the exhibition to tell us the story of the glass bead making in Murano -Venice and the current situation of that centuries old tradition.

Muriel Balensi
Muriel Balensi creates her signature VENEZI'ARTE in 2007. She moved from Paris just the year before, but she met Venice as a tourist and fell in love with the city, leaving behind her past life devoting herself to the art of glass.
Since then she has exhibited her art around Venice, distinguishing herself by adding a touch of contemporaneity to traditional craftsmanship using oxygen in her production process.

Yuki Ebukuro
Yuki Ebukuro born on 1971 in Tokyo, Japan, city of her Graduate in "textile design" on 1992. On 1995 she moves to Venice, Italy, country that gives her the opportunity, though meeting and work shop experience, to develop in the unique and harmonious blend of East and West, all that she call simply "ART". The technique that she loves is the flame work where with the alive flame, in contact with the glass, produce beautiful objects handmade, with artistic and original design.
Necklace, earrings and accessories in Murano Glass, using the high quality material in the market.
Ideation, design and making clothes and accessories (ceremony, vintage and for every special event), with decoration of Venetian beads, glass and laces. Clothes on application and measures. Every pieces of her production is unique and customized.

Lucia Santini
"I was born in Murano,I learned,the technique of glass blowing from mu father,when I was very young.Then I wanted to learn the tecnique of Venetian enamelled glass,that became my first love.I work iny studio in Murano,where i blow and paint the glass.I taught at Corning studio N.Y.and I collaborate with artists as Lucio Bubacco and Aristide Najean".

Benedetta Gaggia
The creation of extraordinary flowers in tiny glass beads for Benedetta Gaggia is a "family" matter; not only because it is a passion inherited from her mother, Mariagrazia Gaggia, herself a pupil of the legendary woman Nella Lopez y Royo Sammartini, but also because she uses the ancient Murano glassware from the immense / kept in the immense home archive. Benedetta creates colorful buds and corollas, sometimes faithful to reality and sometimes of free imagination, recovering the ancient technique of conterie, a practice that was once widespread in Venice but which today has almost been lost.

Sébastian Carré
French contemporary jewelry artist, Sébastien Carré lives and works in Strasbourg. After obtaining his higher diploma in plastic arts at the prestigious HEAR, the Higher School of Decorative Arts of Strasbourg, he accumulates numerous awards and distinctions.

In 2015, he was one of the winners of the Prix de la jeune création métiers d'art by Ateliers d'Art de France, the Gioielli in fermento prize (Italian prize for contemporary jewelry) and a double prize at the Legacy Awards organized by the Alliages gallery (Jury prize + public). In 2016, he was was also awarded the Prize for the Arts of the académie Rhénane and finished 2nd in the Enjoia't Prize (Prize for contemporary jewelry in Barcelona). In 2020 he is one of the finalists of the "Arte y Joya" prize and in 2021 he is selected for the "Schmuck21" prize in Munich.
Since 2015 he has also been curating exhibitions ("Transmission" in 2015 at the studio 411 gallery - Montpellier / "Materio-Talk" - in 2017 at the Ateliers de Paris - in 2018 at the French institute of Barcelona - in 2019 at the French institute of Athens / "LIÉ.E.S" in 2019 at the gallery Art Course - Strasbourg and at the French institute of Barcelona).
Sébastien Carré has exhibited in more than 110 exhibitions, in museums, galleries, schools or associations; in Europe, the United States & Asia.