Laura de Santillana (1955–2019) was born in Venice and trained in New York, where she also worked at the Vignelli studio. From 1975 to 1985, she designed objects and lamps for Venini, the renowned glass company founded by her grandfather, Paolo Venini. Many of her designs from this period are now part of prestigious collections worldwide.
She was an internationally renowned glass artist who continually pushed the boundaries of her medium. Initially expected to lead Venini, her path took a new direction when the company was taken over in 1985. This unexpected turn freed her from familial obligations, allowing her to pursue her own artistic vision while remaining deeply connected to the Murano glassmaking tradition and heritage.
The first step was always imagined in sketches, which gave rise to the bridging power in Laura’s glass which depended on the sensuality of her artistic vision; she saw within glass beauty and tenderness such as no other artist has brought to life with such vivid effect.
After Laura’s passing in 2019, the De Santillana Foundation was established to preserve and promote her artistic legacy.
Gallery - click images to enlarge
Hand-blown, compressed and slumped glass
H30 x W25.5 x D7.5cm
2016
Laura was renowned for her mastery of colour in glass, as colour research was a cornerstone of her pratcie. She travelled to the Czech Republic to create this piece, because it was one of the few places she could experiment with uranium-based colours unavailable elsewhere. This piece is among the last she ever made, marking a unique and significant moment in her exploration of colour.
Ref. LDS2504
£16,000.00
Hand-blown and compressed glass
H 24.2 x W 17.2 x D 4.2 cm
2019
This work embodies Laura’s distinctive
approach to glass and the essence of
what she sought to capture in her art. It
highlights subtle qualities often
overlooked in glass—nuances that
demand patience and careful observation
to fully appreciate.
It almost appears like a diaphanous block
of colored silk, yet light still radiates and
shifts depending on the viewer’s vantage
point. Laura often remarked that, given
the choice, she would have worked with
fabric. But she didn’t have a choice—born
into the Venini legacy, glass was in her
blood.
Ref. LDS-COL25-02
£16,000.00
Hand-blown and compressed glass.
H 27 x 18 x 3.5 cm
2016
This piece begins as a blown form, much
like a vase, before being carefully
compressed into a flattened, canvas-like
shape. This transformation allowed Laura
to serially explore the possibilities of glass
through the application of specific
techniques.
Though smaller in scale, the work echoes
the color-block compositions of her most
famous Tokyo-Ga series, where the
incalmo technique is used to bring two
colors into direct interaction, creating a
dynamic visual dialogue.
Ref. LDS-COL25-01
£20,000.00
Hand-blown and slumped glass
H 35 x W 24 x D 9
2016
Laura was renowned for her mastery of
color in glass, as color research was a
cornerstone of her artistic practice. She
traveled to the Czech Republic to create
these works because it was one of the few
places where she could experiment with
uranium-based colors, unavailable
elsewhere. These pieces are among the
last she ever made, marking a unique and
significant moment in her exploration of
color.
Ref. LDS-COL25-03
£15,000.00