Michela Cattai is an Italian artist and designer whose practice explores the sculptural and expressive potential of Murano blown glass. She graduated in Painting from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, where she also pursued studies in glass design, and later earned a master's degree at SDA Bocconi in Milan.

In 1991, she founded Galleria ART+DESIGN in Milan, now based in the Brera district, establishing a dialogue between modern and contemporary art and design that continues to inform her artistic vision.

Working between Milan and Venice, she has developed a distinctive artistic language inspired by organic forms and the biodiversity of the Venetian lagoon. Through experimentation with surfaces and colour, her work investigates the relationship between matter, light, and memory, reinterpreting centuries-old Murano glassmaking techniques through a contemporary perspective. Each work is conceived as a unique sculpture, in which colour functions as a structural element rather than a decorative one, occupying a space between sculpture and collectible design.

In 2019, Cattai was appointed Art Director of Venini, contributing to the development of significant artistic projects and international collaborations. Since 2023, she has devoted herself entirely to her independent artistic practice.

Her solo exhibitions include Canneto Venetian Glass at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome, accompanied by a symposium (2017); the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice (2017); a survey exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo (2019); In Chiaroscuro: Cattai e Tintoretto at Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice (2023); and ArcheoMateria at the National Archaeological Museum of Venice (2025).

She has also participated in internationally curated exhibitions, including VITREA. Il vetro italiano at Triennale Milano (2021), Doppiafirma at Palazzo Litta in Milan (2022), Homo Faber at Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice (2024 and 2026), and several editions of The Venice Glass Week HUB.

Her works are held in public and private collections, including the permanent collections of Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, the Murano Glass Museum, and the Italian Embassy in Tokyo.

Explore more of Michela’s work