Page 100 - Art-Addiction

LIVIo seGUso

Born in venezia, italy
lives and works in Murano venezia, italy

In these works, the transparent crystal forms are superimposed onto one another, giving rise to a composition
that follows a well-defined structural logic that then fuses into a central nucleus qua origin and state of glass.
The end result is a sequence of extraordinarily and suggestively emotional lights.
All of these works are entirely hand-made using hot glass and a series of traditional glass techniques. Their
exterior is constituted by masses of blown glass that develop into elliptical or circular forms, fused by a heavy
internal mass in which there are either one or several paired air bubbles signifying the coming-into-being of life.
In this way, in the progression of his stylistic and formal research, seguso gradually assumes greater awareness
of the value of heat in reference to form, thus nurturing the conviction that his creativity and feelings must be
in perfect symbiotic relationship with the material of glass. seguso is the artist who has, possibly more than any
other, understood that when a glass sculpture is designed or projected, it has to be “thought of’ as glass; that
is, it has to be conceived considering how glass behaves when it begins in a specific point, when it origina-
tes from a specific line. This is why his forms are often circular or elliptical; they recall the movement of the
blowing-rod when it holds the molten mass of fluid glass and begins to work it, subjecting it constantly to the
heat of the furnace. These works are clear examples of a compositional form where masses are superimposed
according to a process of cellular accretion that imposes absolute rigor on form. Progressively, in fact, the
bubble inside the mass of glass unites the elliptical discs and repeats this form ever more exactly, even though
the entire sculpture has been modeled by the artist himself. seguso’s stainless steel supports date from the
same period. They are his first attempts at bringing together two materials that are apparently so different, but
that, considering their elegant structures, are in fact ideal juxtapositions. In actual fact, what seguso is really
interested in is finding the compositional rigour capable of expressing an extreme purity while at the same time
exalting the values of matter and idea in such a way that the work acquires the allusive meaning of an opening
out towards space.
(AndreA PAgnes “BrieF historiCal anD teChniCal Digression on liVio segUso’s work”)
lIFE’s VIsUal arCHITECTUrE, 2001 Bronze, unique edition 32 x 27 x 18 cM. / 12½ x 10½ x 7 in. 
 lTHE lasT UpGradEd, 2002 WAx sculPture, unique edition 36 x 27 x 18 cM. / 14 x 10 x7 in.

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