Nickel-plated centerpiece,
coloured, profiled, cut sheets
of glass, c. 1954
L
egendary Italian artistic polymath Gio Ponti
espoused and lived the theme, "Modern interpretation,
original invention, technical perfection." Through war and
peace, for him and his colleagues, the mantra remained
the same.
In this stylish new book, Fontana Arte, decorative arts
scholar Franco Deboni, himself an artist-designer in glass,
documents, through the tenures (1930-1968) of three of
its art directors, the artistic fortunes of Fontana Arte, an
avant-garde glass studio and manufacturer. Founded in
1880, it survived the privation, propaganda and turmoil
of both world wars, becoming a sine qua non of taste,
HYLAND
