ArcheoMateria by Michela Cattai
Curated by Francesca Giubilei
October 30- Novembre 30, 2025
The National Archaeological Museum of Venice houses the exhibition ArcheoMateria by the artist and designer Michela Cattai. The exhibition is curated by Francesca Giubilei, with theparticipation of the glass historian Rosa Barovier Mentasti.
The exhibition brings together over twenty works created by the artist in recent years with the Museum’s collections, establishing a connection between the Venetian patricians’ collection of antiquities and the glassmaking art of Murano.
Cattai’s glass artworks become a contemporary echo of classical sculpture through the appropriation and reinvention of traditional aesthetic motifs: grooves, folds and chiaroscuro.
Two new series form the heart of the exhibition: ArcheoMateria, which explores the concept of the artifact as an object of aesthetic contemplation, and Colonne d’aria, which recalls the ancient columns, transforming glass into a light and dynamic element, with surfaces punctuated by solids and voids.
The expressiveness of Cattai’s works is revealed in her ability to bring matter into motion: deep folds, grooves, and reliefs offer different planes for light to refract, bringing the objects to life. The satin-finished surfaces, enriched with polished details and precious metals, enhance the dialogue between light and volume, softness and formal rigor.
ArcheoMateria demonstrates the strength of Michela Cattai’s research, which explores the connections between matter and light, tradition and innovation, restoring glass to its most authentic symbolic and expressive dimension.
The installation, conceived by the artist, is created by CIMENTO, an Italian company operating in the fields of design and architecture, developing innovative materials that combine functionality, sustainability, and expressive qualities, thanks to the pursuit of deep, material textures and sophisticated colors. The inaugural event is sponsored by Terre D’Aenòr.
Michela Cattai is artist and designer. She founded her own art gallery ART+DESIGN in Milan in 1991.
Her works are present in permanent collections, including the Stiftung Museum Kunst Palast (Düsseldorf), the Murano Glass Museum, the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista (Venice), the Italian Embassy in Tokyo and the Carlo Rizzarda Museum and Gallery of Modern Art (Feltre).
She became art director for Venini in 2019 and she has been entirely dedicated to artistic research since 2023.
Entrance: Piazzetta San Marco 17
Opening hours: Tuesday- Sunday; 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (last admission at 4 p.m.)
Tickets: 8 euros for National Archaeological Museum of Venice and monumental rooms of Marciana Library (except for reductions and free admission by law)
