Fulvio Bianconi

Fulvio Bianconi (1915–1996), an Italian designer and artist, is best known for two main activities: on the one hand, his work as a glass designer, pursued from the 1950s onward largely in collaboration with the Venini glassworks; on the other, his career as a graphic designer—especially in publishing—through which he worked throughout his life with major Milanese publishing houses such as Mondadori, Motta, and Garzanti. Gifted with a strong talent for drawing, refined during his studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, he painted frescoes for Galtrucco textile shops and for pavilions at the Fiera Campionaria. In the postwar years, the perfume company Gi.Vi.Emme commissioned him to create new bottles for its fragrances, giving Bianconi his first direct contact with the world of Venetian glass, which immediately sparked his imagination. From his close partnership with the entrepreneur Paolo Venini came, in 1947, a series of playful figurines inspired by characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, followed between 1949 and 1950 by the celebrated Fazzoletto vase, co-signed with Paolo Venini and destined to become one of the most famous creations of the entire twentieth century. The collaboration with Venini lasted throughout the 1950s and produced many other vases characterized by vibrant color and a delight in experimenting with unconventional, innovative techniques; it ended in 1957 due to disputes over authorship of the products. From that point on, Bianconi also experimented with other glassmakers, such as Vistosi (with whom he created a vase that won an award at the 1964 Triennale) and the Swiss glassworks Hergiswil. As a graphic designer, he also collaborated with major industries such as Fiat and Pirelli.