Incommunicability in the age of social media and artificial intelligence told through the language of glass and the ancient technique of graffiti on gold leaf
The “BABEL” exhibition, a solo show by Marco Toso Borella produced by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, opened to the public on June 13 at the Murano Glass Museum and will run until March 30, 2027: on display are about twenty new works by the Muranese artist, one of the leading contemporary interpreters of the technique of graffiti on gold leaf applied to glass, reinterpreted in a modern key through artistic research that combines tradition, experimentation, and social reflection.
In an era dominated by digital hyper-communication, BABEL aims to address the theme of the contemporary paradox of incommunicability. The works evoke a symbolic and metaphysical universe where the tensions of the 21st century converge: the alienation produced by social media, the impact of artificial intelligence, and the loss of identity and relationships. Archetypal figures and references to Western cultural tradition become tools for interpreting the present and the fragility of contemporary man.
Through the dialogue between light, transparency, and engraving, the exhibition path also restores the historical and cultural value of an ancient Muranese technique brought back to the center of contemporary artistic research.
In Murano, his works are exhibited in the permanent collection of the Glass Museum, on the first floor, and in the Basilica of San Donato.
The technique developed by the artist, defined as “Murano Glass Gold Graffito 3D”, stems from the evolution of ancient graffiti on gold leaf. The process combines manual engraving of the gold leaf, layering of glass, and polychrome pictorial interventions on multiple levels, utilizing transparency and depth to build three-dimensional and narrative images. The exhibition thus offers an engaging journey that intertwines contemporary art, historical memory, and Venetian cultural identity, reaffirming the role of Murano glass as a living and current expressive language.
On the occasion of the Open Day, the director of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Chiara Squarcina, also spoke alongside the Master.
To learn more, VISIT the BABEL section
