The Swiss glassmaker makes beautiful art out of glass.
Swiss glassmaker Matteo Gonet creates objects made of glass for designers, architects and artists all over the world that appear fragile and are simply beautiful in a captivating way. They hang in Chanel boutiques, for example, stand in galleries or decorate private homes. It was actually more of a coincidence that the 35-year-old chose this ancient craft. He wanted to travel, and as it is not possible to train as a glassblower in Switzerland, he had to go abroad. That's how it all began.
Glass balls for the Palace of Versailles
Matteo Gonet and his team produce around 1000 glass balls for the fountains in the Palace of Versailles. Each one weighs between 4 and 8 kilos. These spheres are coated with gold leaf on the inside and then mounted on stainless steel tubes. The individual elements are between 1.50 and 1.70 meters high and are set up in a group of trees covering around 100 square meters. The French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel was inspired by the ballet dances of the Sun King Louis XIV, who was an enthusiastic dancer, for the shape of the fountains. Jean-Michel Othoniel found old sketches of the king in which he had recorded his dance steps in order to learn them better. He used these notes as a model for his designs. His idea was to have the king dance on the water. Matteo Gonet and Jean-Michel Othoniel have known each other for many years and have already realized many projects together.
His latest commission: a lamp edition for the French artist Philippe Parreno. Parreno already worked on various lamps in the 1990s, but now he wants to expand this work and has commissioned Matteo Gonet for his project. The glassmaker has already produced several prototypes for the artist from Paris and Parreno will now visit the manufactory for the first time to discuss the project.
Our camera team met the glassmaker at his factory in Münchenstein, near Basel.
