RENZO RIODA
La Venini
Renzo was born in 1940 into an old Muranese family. At a very early stage of his youth, he was fascinated by glass and looking forward to working in this field after finishing his studies.
Already at the age of 21 he took responsibility as technical director in a company with 60 employees and two years later he moved to Ulderico Moretti as director of human resources with 200 staff – a leading factory specializing in the production of glass canes for various industrial purposes where he stayed for almost two decades.
Before entering Venini in 1989 he spent 10 years at the famous enterprise La Murrina. He then spent some “unforgettable” 25 years with Venini where he retired as CEO.
His assessment of the current economic situation in the glass industry on Murano paints the fact of a decreasing population and ever lower production in the factories with the exception of art works. He summarizes that glass production cannot economically support the population of the island so young people are looking for jobs elsewhere.
The major part of the conversation centers on the famous years, artists and the achievements initiated by Paolo Venini. Venini always stood for innovation, quality and excellence. Its symbol the famous vase of Veronese just exemplifies these achievements. The sheer number of colours in various shades, the daily production process and the attraction of designers and maestri is their marketing success. In 2021 Venini celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Various glass techniques to allow large scale projects were developed and created at Venini, especially during the 1980s and onwards, always associated with renowned designers
Tomaso Buzzi (1900 – 1981) became art director – the cooperation lasted for several fruitful years - creating new product lines like "Alga" or "Laguna"
The critical period after WWII striving to rebuild the preeminence of the glassware industry had been supported by names such as Gio Ponti (1891 – 1976), Fulvio Bianconi (1915 – 1996) at the 1948 Biennale of Venice, Tapio Wirkkala (1915 – 1985) or Alessandro Mendini (1931 – 2019), the latter worked for 20 years with Venini, to name a few renowned designers
After Paolo Venini had died in 1959, Gio Ponti, in an article for Domus, remembered the contributions of the firm at all relevant art exhibitions citing names, locations and engagements.
Unfortunately, the general economy and environmental considerations, the lack of young people looking to enter the business and the competition from low cost producing regions are not encouraging.
Renzo passed away in March 2021 – we miss him.
