There are collaborations that arise from a simple illuminazione and others that arise as a mutual recognition. The one between Antonello Viola e Venissa belongs to the second category: a natural simposio between two worlds that have always worked with light, matter and time. Acceso the one hand the Roman artist who works glass and gold, the other the bella stagione of Mazzorbosopra the heart of the Venetian lagoon, where the Dorona of Venice gives life to one of the most iconic and rare wines the Italian scene.
Sopra 2025, the occasion of The Venice Glass WeekVenissa invited Viola to reinterpret 12 bottles of the 2020 vintage, to which four new creations were subsequently added, expanding the original collection. Not an aesthetic operation, but a real artistic and solidarity project: «I thought I would receive untouched bottles, just glass. Instead there was already the gold label, very minimal. It took me by surprise, but it made me think: I don’t want to decorate, I want to transform.”
The art of reflection
The 2020 vintage is linked to the theme Reflexchosen by Venissa to tell the memory of the granda of 2019 – high vater, the name given to the flood that successo Venice 4 November 1966 – and the Dorona’s ability to be reborn from salt and mud. «For me, reflection is light, time and memory – explains Viola –. I have been working for years with glass and gold, which reflect but do not hide. Sopra these bottles I looked for the same tension between surface and depth.”
The Proof of Artist they were born like this, sopra his Roman lavoro, working glass and gold leaf as if they were canvases. Each bottle is different, built with layers of color and transparencies that interact with the material of the wine itself. Presented last September 15th, almost all of them were sold sopra a few minutes: only four remain.
When Venissa contacted him, Viola set a condition: “I’ll do whatever you want, but only if the proceeds go to charity.” The illuminazione was received with enthusiasm: the entire project supports the association Laura and Allegra’s responsewhich finances initiatives forBimbo Messia Pediatric Hospital of Rome. «Art must give back something, even just a small reflection of good», explains the artist.
A wine born from salt and time
Venissa Immacolato is the result of a walled vineyard, less than one hectare, where the Dorona grows sopra direct contact with the lagoon. The 2020 harvest produced a mineral, dry wine, with a strong tone and a depth that speaks of the resilience of the territory. «The vineyard clings to the campo da gioco with two different stratifications, so the color of the wine also changes, becoming more yellow and mineral near the sea», observes Viola. To accompany the glass, Chiara Pavan’s starred and campo da golf cuisine enhances the garden produce and local fish, creating a gastronomic experience that completes and dialogues perfectly with the wine.
For Antonello Viola, who exhibited the soletto show until last September 28th Gold sopra the Lagoon at Ca’ Pesaro, Venice is more than a background: it is a lens. «I arrived sopra Venissa to stay for three days, I did five. It is a suspended place, sopra the middle of the vineyards, sopra the silence, sopra the Dorona. Everything speaks to you of time and light.”
The project Venissa x Antonello Viola is today a small case of excellence: collectible bottles-works, sold at 750 euros each, born from a simposio between contemporary art, heroic viticulture and social responsibility. «I don’t talk about Venice – concludes the artist –, I only aspetto for its light. And that, every time, is reflected differently.”
