20th Century Art Glass Plaque with High-Fired Geometric Decoration by Umberto Mastroianni, 1980s

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Description

Measurements:
height: 13 cm; width: 13 cm; depth: 0.7 cm

item :
a fine square clear glass plaque originally attached … Read more Measurements:
height: 13 cm; width: 13 cm; depth: 0.7 cm

item :
a fine square clear glass plaque originally attached to a metal napkin holder as a decorative garnish, but also suitable for display. Dimensions: 13 x 13 cm, signed in full "mastroianni" at the bottom left. The work was created by hot-molding the glass, which gives the edges a wavy, asymmetrical, and pleasantly irregular relief, designed to refract natural light in a sculptural manner. At the center of the plaque is a vibrant geometric decoration in polychrome enamel applied at high heat, depicting a stylized fish embedded in a dynamic underwater tangle. The decomposition of the forms, characterized by thick, sharp black and red lines enclosed by a clear, saturated yellow outline with green and blue accents, reflects the artist's expressive maturity. A close examination of the back reveals the perfect transparency of the glass body, the mirror-like clarity of the signature (visible on the reverse), and the absence of scratches. These elements confirm the excellent state of preservation and the nature of an artist's multiple, created in collaboration with a renowned artistic furnace (presumably from murano) in the second half of the 20th century.

information on the artist and/or manufacturer:
umberto mastroianni (fontana liri, 1910 – marino, 1998) is universally recognized as the first italian abstract sculptor and one of the most revolutionary figures of the post-world war ii avant-garde. After initial training in rome and turin, he developed a unique language capable of fusing the plastic dynamism of boccioni's futurism with the rigorous geometry of french cubism. Throughout his extraordinary career, he received the highest institutional accolades, including the prestigious international grand prize for sculpture at the 1958 venice biennale and the praemium imperiale in tokyo in 1989. In addition to monumental sculpture, mastroianni devoted himself passionately to the applied arts, transferring his graphic energy to papier-mâché, ceramics, and art glass. His creations have been celebrated in major exhibitions (such as the celebrated retrospective "fragility and strength" at the palazzo ducale in venice in 1998) and included in the permanent collections of the world's most prestigious museums, including the moma in new york, the galleria nazionale d'arte moderna in rome, and the mic in faenza. This piece has an attribution mark,
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