The Primo Maestro Andrea Zilio is a rare breed in today’s world. Born in Venice, and raised in the island of traditional glass making, Murano, Andrea discovered his dowries by pure chance – or perhaps fate; after a short period in the antique furniture restoration, Andrea started working at Anfora – an established family glass furnace run by Renzo Ferro on the Serenella island – and quickly raised the bar of glass mastery
Andrea’s glass is free-blown – without the aid of a mould – a task that requires an immense amount of skill and passion. Andrea can play with the most complex of the traditional techniques in a modern manner, such as reticello, incalmo, zanfirico and sommerso.
A Master of Glass works closely with artists, interacting, exchanging ideas and visualizing the dream. Andrea has worked with Yoichi Ohira, Ritsue Mishima, Cristiano Bianchin, Michele Burato, Massimo Micheluzzi, Melvin Anderson, Peter Pelzel, Tristano di Robilan, to name a few, and is as respected as one can be in the art of glass blown. His expertise has earned him recognition from leading experts in the field, considering him one of the pioneering masters in the world of non-figurative glass blowing.