The Transparent Breath 2026

Versione Italiana - Italian version      

Artist list

Nawal Amer, Luz Arias, Anuschka Bayens, Jasminka Begić, Tetiana Dudakova, Marta Edöcs, Antonija Gospic, Dominyka Gulbinaitė, Oksana Koklonska, Agatha Kosobucki, Julie Lasfargues, Eri Maeda, David Melamed, Joanna Muzyka, Stéphane Olivier, Lidia Noemi Orandi Godfrid, Isabelle Petegnief, Fernanda Pérez Morales, María Fernanda Pérez Morales, Neslihan Sadikoglu, Nils Schubert, Olga Struck, Michi Suzuki, Malwina Szadkowska, Celina Szelejewska-Pigulla, Ana Viñuela

Over five editions, the project has grown from a dedicated exhibition in Venice into an international network connecting artists with galleries, museums, cultural institutions and academic environments. The 2026 edition reflects this development, while remaining focused on the central question that has guided the project from the beginning: what can glass become when it enters the field of contemporary jewelry?

The exhibition
Hosted once again at the Querini Stampalia Foundation, in collaboration with Libreria Giovanni by Edizioni Tlon, the exhibition brings together artists from Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas. Their practices range from lampworking and glassblowing to fusing, engraving and experimental processes, revealing the remarkable variety of approaches that contemporary glass jewelry can encompass. Across these different perspectives, the material becomes a way to investigate memory, identity, nature, light, transformation and the relationship between the body and the object.

A Growing international network
The fifth edition also marks an important step in the international development of The Transparent Breath. For the first time, the project enters into a collaboration with the Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar, Croatia. In spring 2027, selected works from the 2022–2026 editions will be presented in a dedicated museum exhibition marking the institution's 18th anniversary. The initiative creates a direct dialogue between contemporary glass jewelry and the historical heritage of glassmaking. A new partnership with Glass Art & Design Paris (GAAD Paris) introduces an exchange of awards between the two exhibitions, strengthening connections between the glass scenes of Venice and Paris. The collaboration also gives participating artists access to GAAD Paris's first international competition dedicated to glass jewelry. The project renews its collaboration with Creativity Oggetti Gallery in Turin, which will once again select artists for a dedicated exhibition and the possibility of longer-term gallery representation. Revista Atelierul also returns as a media partner, extending the project's editorial reach internationally. 

Together, these collaborations mark a shift in the scale of the project: The Transparent Breath is no longer limited to its annual exhibition in Venice, but continues through museums, galleries, international events and academic partnerships.

The Venice Glass Week
The exhibition is a key component of The Venice Glass Week, the international festival of the city, dedicated to the glass art, scheduled  from 12th to 20th September 2026 around Venice, Mestre and Murano. The festival is promoted by the municipal city of Venice with others important  organisations as Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, LE STANZE DEL VETRO - Fondazione Giorgio Cini, the istituto Veneto di scienze, lettere e arti and il Consorzio Promovetro Murano.

Arte Design Venezia
The Cultural Association promotes art, design, and enhances the artistic heritage of Venice. It organizes art and design exhibitions and offers guided tours and various cultural activities that contribute to creating a national and international network among people, artists, and artisans. Arte Design Venezia promotes various art and design events, including Venice Design Week, and participates in other design weeks throughout the year.

The artists and their works
Lidia Noemi Orandi Godfrid (Argentina) discovered glass while travelling in Denmark, blending flameworking and jewelry into an ever-evolving practice shaped by emotion. Ana Viñuela (Spain) creates collections where fire, texture, and light define the relationship between glass and its support. Katarzyna Gemborys (Poland) combines traditional techniques with organic forms to explore fragility and the transformative power of memory. 

For some artists, the path to glass runs through science and technical mastery. Stéphane Olivier (France), a former medical engineer, combines blown glass, murrine technique, and shape-memory titanium alloys into jewels of remarkable refinement. David Melamed (Canada) developed the Glascade technique, letting molten glass fall freely, hidden 24K gold revealing itself only when light and movement align. Nils Schubert (Germany), a scientific glassblower, creates precise sculptural pieces where geometry and transparency are inseparable from craftsmanship.

The selection also includes practices deeply rooted in cultural heritage and personal experience. Nawal Amer (Palestine) reimagines traditional Palestinian symbols as contemporary narratives of memory and resilience. Eri Maeda (Japan/France), guided by her practice of Ikebana, interprets life and nature through lampwork jewelry where form and colour harmonise. Oksana Koklonska and Tetiana Dudakova (Ukraine) both approach glass as a living, expressive material; the former sculpting soft glass flowers to speak about human relationships and nature, the latter drawing on Italian and Ukrainian glassmaking traditions to create jewelry rooted in resilience. Jasminka Begić (Croatia) brings her background as a painter to glass fusing, in dialogue between visual art and craft. Neslihan Sadikoglu (Turkey) produces flame-worked pieces inspired by nature, sea life and Mediterranean heritage. Michi Suzuki (Japan) creates miniature glass sculptures, merging the ancient art of glass bead-making with the visual traditions of Japanese culture.

Further voices in the selection each bring their own distinct artistic language. Joanna Muzyka (Poland) fuses lampwork with modern aesthetics in pieces that blur the line between fine art and adornment. Luz Arias (Argentina) turned from goldsmithing to borosilicate glass to explore color and the luminous transparency of light through matter. Antonija Gospić (Croatia) combines hand-shaped glass and metal in pieces rooted in Murano's tradition. Agatha Kosobucki (Germany) merges opaque and transparent elements into sculptural forms that question identity and physicality. Julie Lasfargues (France) developed a multidisciplinary practice where technical mastery and organic inspiration coexist. Dominyka Gulbinaitė (Lithuania) produces dynamic pieces suspended between invisible movement and fragile form.

Xin Yue (China/UK) draws on Eastern philosophy to translate inner landscapes into sculptural accessories. Marta Edöcs (Hungary) creates visual imprints of moments and moods through a self-invented pattern technique recognised internationally. Malwina Szadkowska (Poland) captures shifting reflections in borosilicate glass rings that freeze fleeting moments of perception. María Fernanda Pérez Morales (Mexico), blends Mexican surrealism and whimsy into glass jewelry inspired by everyday magic. Celina Szelejewska-Pigulla (Germany) explores light and transparency through layered surfaces that shift with reflection. Anuschka Bayens (Belgium) has spent over twenty years shaping jewelry and installations where emotion and light invite quiet contemplation. Isabelle Petegnief (France) conceives each jewel as singular as the person who wears it, where light, matter, and memory converge.

Olga Struck (Germany), selected student from Pforzheim University, complete this year's extraordinary international selection.


Opening hours: 10 am–1 pm & 2 pm–6 pm. Closed Mondays. Free entry

Special events:
Official Presentation & Meet the Designer Day: Saturday, September 12th - 10:30 AM
Public Guided Tour: Saturday, September 19th - 3:00 PM
Both events are free and open to the public.