George Ranalli Architect GRA

Sofia Glassware by George Ranalli DESIGNS

George Ranalli DESIGNS glassware collection began with Sofia Glass (2004) designed for an exhibition on the famed Island of Murano that explored the contemporary applications of traditional Venetian glassmaking techniques. Sofia Glass is infused with amethyst, and its dynamic quality reflects the process of glassmaking. The design for the bowl and stem uses lessons learned from the flower to nest a larger bowl inside a smaller bowl. The design allows the user to hold the glass comfortably without ‘warming’ the temperature of the liquid contained within.

Glass is mysterious and fragile, and also delightfully adaptable. George Ranalli DESIGNS engages in the paradox by thinking about sensory perception. dynamic movement, composition, and lighting effects. Sofia Glassware is a premiere collection of water, juice, wine, and cocktail glasses, and vases that celebrate the tradition of glasswork carried forward by artisans for centuries, and the very real ways our contemporary glassware connects us each other and to our past. The colors of Sofia Glassware are not uniform.  Gradients of color emerging from a solid base appear to tessellate like a kinetic sculpture.