Sculpture of a hen by Livio Seguso for Gral Germany around 1970.

Large sculpture of a stylised hen in smoked grey glass. The glass work is handmade at the Gral glassworks in Germany. The hen was designed by Livio Seguso around 1970. The artist's incised signature (LS) is on the base. Livio Seguso (born 1930) comes from a Venetian family of glassmakers. At the age of fourteen, he began his training as a glassblower in his uncle Alfredo Barbini's workshop. He worked there until 1960 as an assistant, then joined Salvati & C as a master glassmaker. There, Livio Seguso collaborated closely with the artistic director Luciano Gaspari. Finally, in 1969, he founded his own studio. During the 1970s, in collaboration with the Gral Glaswerkstaetten in Duernau, Germany, Livio Seguso created a series of abstract animal sculptures. Seguso is one of the few masters from the Venetian lagoon to keep up with the developments in international art glass. His glass sculptures are primarily made of clear glass and feature rounded or elliptical shapes. From the 1990s onwards, Seguso began designing volumes with a more geometric pattern. Many of his sculptures are placed on bases made of metal, marble, granite, or wood as a counterpoint. Bibliographic reference: Gralglas Informationen 8, Leaflet of the Manufactory ca. 1980s