Mollified Collective
Exhibition Mollified, Venice Glass week 2022.
Mollified is a collective formed by Cosima Montavoci and Lorenzo Passi that names this serie of Artworks, unless specified all the pictures are by Enrico Fiorese.
THE MANIFESTO
What:
Mollified: glass unites us and our work, melding them by mollifying Murano amulets, composed of small anatomical lampworked parts, wrapped in a glass envelope that covers and strengthens them with its protection. In joining with the parts, the glowing glass modifies, mangles, and softens them, giving them an armor and a new aspect that will allow them to remain preserved,and to appear differently. Even in modern times people have not stopped longing for a perfect, eternal, pain-free existence. Mollified’s inspiration lies in ex-votos, and deals with the human dynamics of asking a third party for one’s salvation. We look at these dynamics anthropologically, casting an ironic but gentle gaze: by definition “mollified” means softened, alleviated.
Why:
The Mollified Collective invites you not to give up and accept that things “just happen”. We ask you to put some courage into it, whether to break down predetermined patterns or to run against destiny, against luck; we shape our own existence, even in the darkest and hardest moments of life; indeed, it is especially in these moments that our choices make the difference. We are not trapped in the spell of an already decided and adverse fate, we choose one, no matter what.
How:
Mollified is versatile and constantly evolving. Mollified unabashedly addresses intimate human themes and taboos with a detached, ironic, sharp anthropological gaze. By debunking difficult topics, avoiding all controversy, it would like to plant a seed of doubt, to trigger a reflection. Mollified would like to address each of us, bestowing on people a spirit of soft revolution and inviting them not to accept with resignation the way things are, while waiting for salvation from the outside. Mollified is a soft embrace in a harsh reality.
Are miracles still possible? Are we afraid of death? How do we deal with failure? Are we aware of our frailty? Cosima Montavoci and Lorenzo Passi have broached these topics, and cast an anthropological eye on human behavior, with more than a touch of irony. Humor paves the way to acceptance; laughter, however tinged with sadness, is a powerful tool for regeneration and liberation from anxiety. Pain, disease, troubles are everyday experiences that leave indelible marks on our bodies,but more so on our souls. In adversity, we must abandon the illusion of being invincible and eternal, and come to embrace a perception of vulnerability and weakness that makes the dream of an eternal and painless life on earth impossible. It’s odd how our singular obsession with being able to dominate everything can in an instant be taken from our hands. We, who once believed we were in control, become those that are controlled. Thus, we put our yielding, weakened limbs in the hands of the Divine, so that we may be freed from troubles and cured from disease. And, in order that our prayers be heard, or to express our gratitude, we attempt to give something in return: the ex-voto. Project Mollified draws its inspiration from the ancient tradition of presenting ex-votos for graces sought or received. Mirthfully, but with compassion, the artist observes this curious phenomenon, that of a physical human token of entreaty or thanks to a higher power. For, even in our modern times, we all wish for a perfect, eternal existence; but when daily suffering wreaks havoc on our expectations, we ask God to deliver us and make our lives better and sweeter: we would that our troubles be mollified. In their joint work, Montavoci and Passi have embedded figures of ivory-colored, lampworked Murano glass in frames of hot-worked transparent glass, encasing them in various vintage metal objects. Each piece is unique. It asks nothing of God, but encourages beholders to open their eyes and gracefully help themselves.
Mollified is a Venetian art collective founded by Cosima Montavoci and Lorenzo Passi in 2022 that through the lens of glass casts an anthropologically ironic look at human behaviour. They founded and are part of the curatorial team of “Fluid Matter”.
Cosima Montavoci was born in Venice in 1988, and after a decade spent in the Netherlands where she graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, she recently returned to live and work in the Lagoon. Cosima Montavoci's work often speaks of major existential themes such as death, creation, and memory. She loves to research and investigate small forgotten things that people often do not see or talk about, elements that she defines "human traces" or "honest fossils." The main feature of her work is to encourage acceptance and metabolization of difficult situations or topics through an ironic attitude that accompanies each of her creations. Cosima Montavoci thinks that her own hands help her to think and, for this reason, the manual component is a very evident feature of her works.
Lorenzo Passi was born in Milan in 1985 and lives and works in Venice. He studied in Italy, Finland and United States. His passion for glass began in 2005 with his apprenticeship in Murano. He made his debut as an artist in 2013, since then his work has appeared in exhibitions both in Italy and abroad.
Lorenzo Passi bases his projects on relationship with people and places around him, reworking and representing real experiences. Sometimes he comes across objects that he collects and reuses by combining them with glass, turning them into symbols that interpret and transform the context in which they are found. It is the environment itself that inspires him and gives rise to the composition of the work. With his research, the artist delves into memory, both subjective and objective, through recognizable objects, inspired by dreams, nature, or even alienation in its most varied forms.
Exhibition Soft Revolution in Galleria casa Dugnani, Robecco sul Naviglio, Milan.
Photo by Piero Fabbri, Exhibition Ex-voto at Vino Vero by Lightbox, Venice.
InLaguna at Palazzo Experimental, Venice
Swallow
Mollified Collective is also behind the Fluid Matter project, has a well-established ability to work with vitreous matter: mollified, in fact, which is also the title of a series of their works, alludes to the process of partial fluidization of the form of a small lampworked glass sculpture incorporated in a hot-worked transparent glass mass. If the pieces included in mollified represented anatomical details, fitting into the tradition of votive offerings, now, with the new works entitled swallow, the focus shifts to the search for well-being: large clear glass lenses, more or less irregularly shaped, encompass tablets, pills, capsules, likewise made of glass, that speak to us of our attempts to soothe pain, to heal from illness, or more generally to improve our state through the use of medicines. We also find in these pieces, in addition to the characteristic “mollification” of the form encapsulated by the transparent glass, another of the typical details of their works: the use of glass in combination with metal.
Da Mollified a Fluid Matter
Mollified nasce nel 2022 come progetto artistico fondato da Cosima Montavoci e Lorenzo Passi. Attraverso il vetro, il collettivo sviluppa una ricerca dedicata al comportamento umano, alla memoria e alle tracce che gli esseri umani lasciano dietro di sé, affrontando temi complessi con uno sguardo ironico e antropologico.
Con il tempo, il confronto con altri artisti ha fatto emergere una realtà tanto ricca quanto poco visibile: sempre più pratiche contemporanee utilizzano il vetro come linguaggio di ricerca, ma raramente trovano occasioni per essere presentate insieme, mettendo in dialogo approcci, esperienze e prospettive differenti.Da questa osservazione nasce Fluid Matter.
La prima edizione, realizzata nel 2024 durante The Venice Glass Week presso Il Palazzo Experimental, presenta una selezione di artisti e collettivi che utilizzano il vetro attraverso linguaggi diversi: scultura, installazione, gioiello contemporaneo, ricerca concettuale e sperimentazione materiale.
L’anno successivo, Fluid Matter: Humanature prosegue questo percorso presso SPARC – Spazio Arte Contemporanea a Venezia, approfondendo il rapporto tra essere umano e natura. Attraverso opere che affrontano temi legati all’ecologia, al corpo, alla trasformazione e alla memoria, la mostra riflette su un confine sempre più sfumato tra ambiente naturale e presenza umana.
Fluid Matter continua a svilupparsi come un ciclo di mostre dedicate al vetro contemporaneo. Ogni edizione nasce da una domanda diversa, mantenendo lo stesso desiderio di creare occasioni di incontro tra artisti, opere e pubblico, e di raccontare il vetro come un linguaggio vivo, capace di interpretare il presente oltre la propria tradizione.
Fluid Matter - Palazzo Experimental, Venice 2024
Fluid Matter - Humanature. Sparc, Venice 2025.