Listen as curator Tina Oldknow, describes the object “West Sky” by artist Alessandro Diaz de Santillana. De Santillana uses color and form to interpret the four elements of the exterior world—air, earth, fire, and water—and the five senses of the interior world—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. His abstract sculptures are minimal yet sensuous.
In “West Sky,” de Santillana translates the element of sky and its sense-associations—light, air, wind, cold, fresh, open—into a hard, reflective, aerodynamic vertical. This frozen silver zeppelin is made invisible by its mirrored surface filled with air bubbles, which reflects the world around it.
De Santillana is part of a famous glassmaking family. His grandfather, Paolo Venini, founded the influential Venini glassworks on the island of Murano in 1921. His father, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, produced many well known designs for Venini, and his sister, Laura de Santillana, is a well-known artist who also works in glass.
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