Michela Cattai, a distinguished glass artist based in Milan and a graduate of the Venice Academy of Fine Arts, previously held the position of Artistic Director at Venini. Since 2023, she has operated as an independent artist. Her glass creations, crafted by some of the finest Murano glassmasters, pay tribute to the golden age of Venetian glass while showcasing a commitment to artistic innovation in the field. Her works demonstrate how the centuries-old tradition of exquisite glass art in Murano can be reinterpreted to fully express the contemporary zeitgeist.

Cattai’s artistic touch is expressed through glass in a chromatic metamorphosis. Her forms emerge in a refined balance of tensions and free volumes, precise gestures, and a wondrous imperfection that reveals an intense relationship with the material. She significantly contributes to the cultural discourse on contemporary artistic glass with projects that blend audacity and poetry, inspired by the Venetian lagoon’s natural scenery. Her blown glass pieces, each unique, are represented by international galleries and displayed at industry fairs worldwide.

In April 2017, for her innovative work and research, Michela Cattai was invited to hold a conference and a unique solo exhibition at the Chamber of Deputies in the Sala del Cenacolo, Rome, and again in 2019 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo, Japan. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, capturing the attention of various museums worldwide.

Since 1991, she has been the artistic director of her eponymous gallery, Gallery Michela Cattai ART+DESIGN, located in the vibrant Brera district of Milan, where she also resides.
The gallery showcases modern and contemporary Italian artistic production, aiming to foster a meaningful dialogue between artistic and design practices.

Ritratto Michela Cattai

Museum Acquisitions

2023. The VID Venice Innovation Design honours architect Mario Cucinella with a work from the Linfa series.

2021. Museo Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Carlo Rizzarda, Feltre, Italy.

2019. Permanent collection Italian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan.

2018. Permanent collection Murano Glass Museum, Venice, Italy.

2018. Permanent collection Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista di Venezia, Venice, Italy.

2017. Europeana, DDB (German Digital Library).

2017. Permanent collection Stiftung Museum KunstPalast, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Exhibitions

UPCOMING

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK
Venice, Italy
September 14-22, 2024

Press

WALLPAPER 2024
Botanica Adriatica,
Contemporary glass sculptures
in Aspen mountain chalet

Class TV MODA 2024
Botanica Vitrea Collection
Television Intreview

ELLE DECOR 2024
Selected artworks
for Material Home exhibition at
Palazzo Bovara Milano

NATURAL STYLE 2024
Un viaggio tra i distretti della creatività. A Brera, Vetro e Biodiversità
Intreview

LIVING CORRIERE 2024
Corallo, unique piece
Contemporary glass sculpture

TL mag 2024
Sculpting the inner force of nature
Art, Mastery and Millennial tradition: Michela Cattai & Yoshimi Futamura
Interview

IO DONNA 2024
In chiaro scuro. Oltre la luce e ombra. Cattai e Tintoretto.
Chiaroscuro Exhibition

MARIE CLAIRE Maison 2023
La finestra sul cortile

Contrasto, blown glass sculpture.
Limited edition for Venini

ARTRIBUNE 2023
Cortecce dell’anima della natura
Exhibition ART + DESIGN,
Michela Cattai / Graeme Black

AD 2O23
A Londra un’immensa casa vittoriana con spa e piscina.
Fasce Canneto collection

VILLEGIARDINI 2O23
Galleria Kalpa:
Il futuro è un viaggio nel passato
Linfa series, glass and bronze

CORRIERE DELLA SERA 2023
Su in terrazza per gustare il calore del vetro

The Venice Glass Week 2023

DDN 2023
Natura, Vetro, Anima…
Nature, Glass, Soul…
Cortecce / Bark Exhibitions

ORLANDO TALES 2023
From furnace to canvas
Interview for Cortecce/Bark
Exhibitions

Falstaff LIVING 2023
Laguna, unique piece
Contemporary glass sculpture

JAMES MAGAZINE 2023
Michela Cattai, “Vetro d’ombra e di silenzio”
Canneto collection

WALLPAPER* 2023
Venice Glass Week 2023 explores the future of glassmaking
Glass Week Hub

Ottiche Parallele Magazine 2023
In chiaro scuro. Oltre la luce e ombra. Cattai e Tintoretto.
Chiaroscuro Exhibition

MARIE CLAIRE 2023
CORTECCE / BARK
Cortecce/Bark Exhibitions

EXIBART 2023
Non solo Frieze: tutte le fiere da visitare a Londra questa settimana
PAD London ART + DESIGN

Exhibitions

SALONE DEL MOBILE
Botanica Vitrea, solo exhibition.
Michela Cattai Studio, Milan, Italy
April 15 – 21, 2024 – MDW

ELLE DECOR
Material Home, collective exhibition.
Palazzo Bovara, Milan, Italy
April 15 – 21, 2024 – MDW

DESIGN MIAMI / MIAMI
Maison Gerard
Miami Beach, USA
December 6 – 10, 2023

SALON ART + DESIGN
Maison Gerard
Park Avenue Armory, New York, USA.
November 10 – 13, 2023

PAD LONDON DESIGN + ART
88 Gallery
Berkeley Square, London, UK.
October 10-15, 2023

IN CHIAROSCURO, BEYOND LIGHT AND SHADOW. CATTAI E TINTORETTO
Solo exhibition
Scala del Bovolo, Venice, Italy.
September 13 – November 19, 2023

A DESTINY IN GLASS
SPARC*
Collective exhibition
Venice, Italy.
September 3 – October 13, 2023

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK HUB
Collective exhibition
Palazzo Loredan, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Venice, Italy.
September 9 – 17, 2023

CORTECCE / BARK
ART + DESIGN Gallery
Graeme Black and Michela Cattai
Milan, Italy.
May 10 – 26, 2023

SALONE DEL MOBILE
ART + DESIGN Gallery
Preview Cortecce / Bark
Milan, Italy.
April 17 – 23, 2023 – MDW

PAD LONDON DESIGN + ART
88 Gallery London
London, UK.
October 11-16, 2022

MASTERPIECE LONDON
88 Gallery London
London, UK.
June 30 – July 6, 2022

SALONE DEL MOBILE
Doppiafirma, Collective exhibition.
Michelangelo Foundation, Fondazione Cologni Maestri d’Arte, Corriere della Sera Living.
Palazzo Litta, Milan, Italy. April 17 – 23, 2022

VITREA. IL VETRO ITALIANO
Triennale Milano
Collective exhibition
Milan, Italy.
May 5 – August 22, 2021

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK HUB
Venini, Riflessi Veneziani.
Palazzo Loredan, Istituto Veneto di Lettere Scienze ed Arti, Venice, Italy.
September 5 – 6, 2020

PAD LONDON DESIGN + ART
Galerie Alexandre Biaggi, Paris.
88 Gallery London, London, UK.
September 30 – October 6, 2019

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK HUB
Collective Venini
Collective exhibition
Palazzo Loredan, Venice, Italy.
September 7 – 15, 2019

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK HUB
Venini, Reshaping the Tradition
Solo exhibition
Palazzo Loredan, Venice, Italy.
September 7 – 15, 2019

RESHAPING THE TRADITION
Solo exhibition
Italian Cultural Institute Tokyo, Japan
May 10 – 25, 2019

NOMAD
Galleria Luisa Delle Piane
St. Moritz, Switzerland.
February 7 – 11, 2019

FOG DESIGN + ART
Casati Gallery
San Francisco, USA.
January 19 – 20, 2019

SOFA CHICAGO
Casati Gallery
Chicago, USA.
November 1 – 4, 2018

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK HUB
Collective exhibition
Palazzo Querini, Venice, Italy.
September 9 – 16, 2018

MILANO DESIGN WEEK
Solo exhibition
Michela Cattai Studio, Brera Design District, Milan, Italy.
April 17 – 22, 2018

NOMAD
Casati Gallery
St. Moritz, Switzerland.
February 8-11, 2018

EUSART
Galleria Civica di Bolzano
Collective exhibition, Bolzano, Italy.
January 23 – February 18, 2018

FOG DESIGN + ART
Casati Gallery
San Francisco, USA.
January 11 – 14, 2017

EXPO CHICAGO
Casati Gallery
Chicago, USA.
September 13 – 17, 2017

THE VENICE GLASS WEEK
Solo exhibition
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, Venice, Italy.
September 10 – 17, 2017

MIAMI / DESIGN BASEL
Casati Gallery
Basel, Switzerland.
June 13 – 18, 2017

SALA DEL CENACOLO
Solo exhibition
Chamber of Deputies, Rome, Italy.
Aprile 12 – 21, 2017