Luciano Gaspari Biography
1913. Born in Venice on March 22 into a family of decorators. 1931. After attending the Art Institute, he made his debut at the collective exhibition of the Opera Bevilacqua La Masa. 1932. He receives the prize for the youngest painter at the XVII Venice Biennale. 1933. Pupil of Virgilio Guidi at the Academy of Fine Arts. 1935. Follows Guidi to Bologna. Here he attended the engraving techniques course held by Giorgio Morandi, with whom he remained in correspondence for a long time. 1936. Participates in the Rome Quadrennial and the Venice Biennale. 1937. Having completed his studies in Bologna, he returns to Venice. 1938. Participates in the Venice Biennale. 1940. Participates in the Venice Biennale; he becomes assistant to Giuseppe Cesetti, figure teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, from whom he takes over, holding the chair until 1983. 1943. marries the painter Bruna Gasparini. He holds his first private exhibition, at the Galleria del Milione in Milan together with Armando Pizzinato. 1944. He exhibits thirteen works in a solo exhibition in Venice, at Carlo Cardazzo's Galleria del Cavallino, a point of reference for Venetian Spatialism, to which - although he did not join the movement - his inspiration is close. 1947. Participates in the Rome Quadrennial. He began collaborating as a designer with the Murano glassworks Salviati. 1948. Participates in the XXIV Biennale with three paintings: Sleeper, purchased from the Gallery of Modern Art of Ca' Pesaro, Figure and Composition. He took part in the first national contemporary art exhibition promoted by the Alliance for the Defense of Culture at Palazzo Re Enzo in Bologna (over forty attendees, including, in addition to him, Afro, Cagli, Consagra, Guttuso, Leoncillo, Mafai, Turcato, ...), which claims the need for artistic comparison with avant-garde European experiences. 1950. Presents La Masa Donna al Mare at the XXXVIII Bevilacqua Collective (now at the International Gallery of Modern Art of Ca' Pesaro). 1951. Participates in the Rome Quadrennial. 1955 Takes on the role of artistic director of Salviati, which he will hold until 1968. 1952. Participates in the XXV Biennale. 1956. Participates in the XVII Biennale with the paintings From the cycle of the seasons. He won first prize in the competition organized by the International Center of Arts and Costume of Palazzo Grassi for designs of furnishing fabrics 1958/1966. He presents original glass works in the Applied Arts section of the 1959 Biennale. Participates in the Rome Quadrennial in 1960. Receives the ENAPI (National Agency for Crafts and Small Industry) award at the XII Milan Triennale for the creation of glassware services mainly for country homes or holidays, made for Salviati. 1961. Works on the large window for the Veneto pavilion at the Italian Exhibition in Turin, set up by Carlo Scarpa. 1962. Seven of his paintings are exhibited at the Biennale. 1964. Participates in the Industrial Design Exhibition at the MoMA in New York. 1968. He leaves the artistic direction of Salviati. Personal room at the Biennale in which he exhibited fourteen paintings from the Germinations series: forms in progress immersed "in the stupor of light", from which he would develop all his future poetics, immersing himself again, for a decade, in painting. 1971. Personal exhibition at the Galleria dei Navigli, in Milan. 1973. Personal room at the Rome Quadrennial. 1981. He resumes dealing with glass and presents some models for Salviati, which will enjoy long-lasting success, the Zefiro bottles and Sasso vases at the Palazzo Grassi exhibition, Vetri di Murano Oggi. 1989-1990. He created a series of unique pieces for the Valmore Art Studio in Vicenza, exhibited in March in the inaugural exhibition at Palazzo Pisani in Lonigo, in the Vicenza area. 1992 -1993. Personal painting exhibition at the Galleria Naviglio in Venice. 1995. He is present with many works from the 1950s and 1960s at the historic exhibition that the Venice Biennale dedicates to Murano glass production. 2007. He passed away in Venice on 22 July.
